Sonic Adventure 2: Pokemon Crossover Version
by rootedinjesus
Summary: One of the best Sonic games - and stories - remade with a Pokemon Crossover. Based largely on the way Sonic X did it. Also contains Advanceshipping.
1. Chapter 0: Awakening

**Hey there! This is my first fan fiction I'm writing for this site. ****I came up with this idea today: b**asically, it's the story of Sonic Adventure 2 mixed with Pokemon. I'm using the way Sonic X did this for inspiration. Also, there's going to be some Advanceshipping in this story; just thought I'd let ya know.

**Note: rootedinjesus does not own Pokemon or Sonic, but you knew that already.  
**

**All right! Enjoy! Feel free to rate and review!  
**

Chapter 0: Awakening

An alarm blared loudly as the musty old factory bustled with excitement. The people who worked there hadn't seen any excitement like this in a long time, as they'd long been retired to work behind the scenes of their organization rather than on the front lines. Today, however, they'd have to do a throwback to their glory days before everything went downhill thanks to one meddlesome kid.

"WARNING," blared the alarm. "LEVEL 1 SECURITY DOOR BREACH. ALL TEAM ROCKET AGENTS, TAKE UP YOUR OLD POSITIONS. REPEAT: ALL TEAM ROCKET AGENTS, TAKE UP YOUR POSITIONS. THIS IS NOT A DRILL. ROCKET FACTORY N IS UNDER ATTACK."

None of the Rocket agents knew who was invading them, or why they were being invaded in the first place. This facility had largely been forgotten by the world, or so they had thought. They'd always been told to stay sharp in case of something like this, but the years of boredom behind the scenes had rusted them so that they were like the factory: dull and forgotten. But now some of them cursed themselves for not being sharper than that.

While they got themselves ready to take on the intruder, he, meanwhile, cackled to himself. "This is too easy! What thick-headed fool built this system in the first place?! Ha! Maybe I can negotiate a deal with ol' Giovanni for better security...unless, of course, this is his preference."

The intruder was a large man whose body had an abnormal egg shape to it: he wore a red blazer, white gloves, and black tights. His eyes were hidden by two monocles, and his bald head adorned a metallic device that made him smarter. He had a thick, ginger mustache under his pink nose. His name was Dr. Ivo Robotnik, or at least it had been. Recently, he'd decided to take on the alias of Dr. Eggman, but that's largely irrelevant.

He had no trouble plowing through the defenses, since all of the Rocket agents were too out of touch with their old skills to do anything noteworthy. Soon, he reached the object of his excursion: a chamber sealed away and forgotten, just like the factory.

"So this is Team Rocket's top secret ultimate weapon, is it?" he sneered. "It looks a lot smaller than I would've expected. No matter; there's no reason it's not powerful if it's under this much security. They probably weren't expecting anyone to know how to unlock its powers. Good thing I'm about to prove them wrong!" He then went up to a keyboard and looked up at a hologram screen that had the word "PASSWORD" written across it. He smiled and typed in, speaking as he did so, "MA-RI-A. Maria! There! Now let's see what this sucker can do," he finished, pressing Enter. Steam billowed out of the machine as the cylindrical canister fell away. As Eggman looked on, he noticed a familiar shape emerge: spikes on the back of his head, long legs suited for running, and a muzzle underneath two eyes.

"Oho!" he raised an eyebrow. "I should have known you'd try to stop me. You never fail to surprise me. And here I thought I'd finally gotten away with something without you noticing!" But when the steam cleared away, he got a better look at his companion who, as it turned out, was black and red, his front sporting a tuft of white fur, his eyes a cold red, and his mouth, in stark contrast to what the mad scientist was used to seeing, was frowning. "Wait a minute," he breathed. "You're not Sonic! How...how can this be?!"

The black hedgehog spoke: "My name is Shadow. I am the world's ultimate life form. Since you were so kind to awaken me, my master, I will be so kind as to grant you a wish."

_Master?_ Eggman thought gleefully. _This is not what I was expecting, but I like it!_

"Hold it right there!"

The two turned to see two Rocket agents standing in the way of their exit. "Did you really think you could get away that easily, Doctor?" one of them, a boy, jeered.

"Well, I was expecting a fight, but I think I'll skip out this time, Brat," Eggman smirked, turning to Shadow.

"My name is BUTCH you dingbat!" the agent snarled.

"Let's just get this over with," his female companion, Cassidy, reached for her belt and fished out a Pokeball. "Go, Golbat! Use Air Cutter!" She threw the Pokeball out, and it opened, releasing energy that materialized into a blue bat-like creature.

"Golbat!" it screeched, folding in its wings and charging at Eggman's pod-walker. It hit dead on, short circuiting his machine.

"Blast it!" he cursed. "I knew I should've gotten that warranty!"

"Leave this to me."

"Hm?" everyone turned towards the black hedgehog, who stepped forward with a clenched fist and a menacing glare.

"If you value your life," he snapped, "recall him. Otherwise, you'll face the consequences."

"Team Rocket never cared about consequences," Cassidy snapped. "Golbat! Use Air Cutter on this weapon!"

"Bat!" the Golbat shrieked, charging at Shadow. He jumped to the side, letting Golbat crash into the wall.

"Guh! Try again!" Cassidy yelled. Golbat obeyed, but was met with the same result. "Again!" Cassidy called, and the situation repeated itself until Golbat fainted from exhaustion. Cassidy recalled it.

"Let me handle this," Butch snapped, throwing out his own Pokeball and releasing a large, steel snake-like Pokemon. "Steelix! Use Bind!" Steelix obeyed, wrapping Shadow up in its metal body and squeezing the life out of him. "You see? All you need is a little power, and –" Butch didn't get to finish gloating, as a sudden blast of power knocked Steelix off of Shadow and onto the Rocket agents. Shadow stood there, unharmed.

"Get out of my sight!" he snarled. Butch recalled Steelix and the two Rocket agents dashed out, shouting the retreat. "Hmph! Pathetic humans," Shadow muttered under his breath so that Eggman couldn't hear.

"That was brilliant, Shadow!" Eggman cheered, elated at his newfound ally's power. "You really are as powerful as my grandfather predicted." Shadow lowered his head on hearing this. "But what did you mean when you would grant me a wish?"

Shadow turned and looked at him, a strange aura in his eyes. "All will be revealed in time, doctor. For now, I must part ways with you." His hover shoes glowed brightly, and he lifted up into the air.

Eggman looked confused. "Wait, what?! Where are you –"

"I'll be waiting for you," he turned back and looked at him, a strange smile on his face, "on the Space Colony ARK." Then he disappeared.

"The ARK?" Eggman wondered. "Whatever could he want me to see there?"


	2. Chapter 1: Breakout

Chapter 1: Breakout

"Aw, come on, Sonic!" Amy groaned. "You said you'd do anything!"

"When I said that, I didn't mean I'd go on a date!" Sonic replied irritably. "Look: I'm not exactly down for a date right now. And hey! Tails wouldn't mind hanging out with you, I'm sure."

"I don't want to hang out with Tails!" Amy groaned. "I want to be with you!"

"Well, sorry, but I'm going running." With that, he dashed off, free from the pink hedgehog's clutches...and dreaded Piko Piko hammer.

"You're always running," she grumbled.

But he knew that already. His red shoes pounded the pavement as he dashed through town and made his way to the park. There, he found a nice spot of grass next to a tree and laid himself down, hands behind his head, and rested. The sky was blue as could be at 3 in the afternoon, and any clouds in sight only added to the sunny atmosphere.

"Just chilling out, huh?" a gravelly voice smirked. He sat up and saw a raven-haired teen walk up to him. He wore a red and black hat with a green Pokeball in the middle of it, a blue, sleeveless hoodie over a black t-shirt, black and green fingerless gloves, and jeans. A yellow, mouse-like Pokemon with red spots on its cheeks perched on his shoulder like a parrot.

"Yep," Sonic smiled. "It sure beats running from Amy all the time." The teenager chuckled and sat down next to the blue hedgehog. "So, what brings the great Ash Ketchum to the park today?"

"Same thing that brings you here," Ash smiled. "I'm just looking for some chill time."

"No kidding. You done watching the Little Leagues?"

"Har har," the aspiring Pokemon master laughed dryly, pulling the brim of his hat over his eyes jokingly. His yellow Pokemon, Pikachu, lifted it back up. "I guess every day's like this for you, huh?"

"You mean either stopping Eggman or running from Amy? Heh! I rarely get a day off."

"I guess Pikachu and I are a little luckier," Ash sighed. "Team Rocket doesn't bother us every day – at least once a week, sure – and we don't have to run from some crazy-obsessed love interest."

"_Pika!_" Pikachu looked at Ash with a puzzled look.

"Well, don't push your luck; it's bound to run out." Sonic stood up. "I think I'll go running through town."

"You do that," Ash nodded. "We'll be right here if you're looking for us."

"Heh! Don't worry. I'll be back in two minutes!" With that, he was gone.

Ash leaned his head against the tree, his smile turning neutral. "I didn't have to push my luck for it to run out," he sighed. "It just ran out on its own."

"_Pika,_" Pikachu sighed somberly.

* * *

Sonic made sure he didn't run through town too fast; he'd gotten frequent complaints about him accidentally throwing things off balance, making people trip, and other stuff. He contented himself with the speed of a car, even though it was painfully boring for him.

"Well, you can't have it all," he sighed.

Suddenly, he tripped and rolled over, tangled up in something. "Whathe –?! What's going on here?!"

"Hah! Didn't expect to get away with that so easily, did you, ya little thief?" A boy and girl fell seemingly out of the sky: they wore black shirts with a big, red "R" plastered onto them.

Sonic knew immediately what that meant: "Team Rocket!"

"That's right, you little scum! Brick! Help me out!"

"It's BUTCH, ya moron!"

"Whatever! Work with me, here. The boss wants this one nice and ripe for questioning," Cassidy had an evil sneer in her eye when she said this. When the boss wanted to see someone for "questioning," it usually wasn't a good thing.

Sonic was confused. _Questioning?_ he thought. _I've been wanted for other things before, but not questioning. I think I'll let this play out. If it gets out of hand, I'll ditch._

* * *

Ash's eyes opened sharply. He looked around, confused. The sky's blue had turned into a mix of blue and orange, and the shadows on the ground were longer. He sat up. "Did I fall asleep?" he wondered aloud. "I must've. It's probably been a couple of hours. No sign of Sonic. Maybe he came back, saw me sleeping, and then ditched." He couldn't help but smirk. "Typical."

Then he heard a humming sound overhead. He looked up: a large, black helicopter with a red "R" plastered onto it was soaring over Celadon City. He stood up, a frown lining his face. "Team Rocket," he growled. Pikachu, who had been sleeping through all this, instinctively woke up and jumped onto his best friend's shoulder, his face mirroring his. "What are they up to this time?"

"_Pika pikachu!_" Pikachu nodded. They started for the city, keeping an eye on the helicopter. As they ran, they noticed a familiar blue shape fall from there, a large piece of metal in his hand.

Ash gasped. "Sonic?"

* * *

Saffron City was going crazy. The police were surrounding the Silph Company building which held a prized possession that was in there for safekeeping. Unfortunately, someone had broken in and stolen it, causing panic all over town.

Why so much panic? Simple: the stolen item was a Chaos Emerald. And the thief? Sonic the Hedgehog.

At least, that's what everyone thought. In reality, while the thief's figure was nearly identical to the blue blur's, his particular traits could easily distinguish himself from Sonic anyday: black and red fur, white hair on his chest, gold bands on his wrists and ankles, white and red hover shoes, cold red eyes, and a perpetual frown on his face made it clear that this was none other than _Shadow_ the Hedgehog.

But because people are stupid, they all thought it was Sonic.

"Is this supposed to intimidate me?" the black hedgehog sneered to himself as he looked down from the top of the building.

"Stop whatever it is you're doing and bring back the emerald!" an Officer Jenny from below snapped into her Megaphone.

Shadow just chuckled. "How pathetic. They can't do anything but sit there and wait for the end to come." He closed his eyes for a moment, as though reminiscing, and then opened them again.

"Yes," he nodded. "I will do it. For all the people on this planet...I promise you…"

"REVENGE!"

With that, he leapt down and made his move.


	3. Chapter 2: Rocketeers

Chapter 2: Rocketeers

As Sonic sped down the main road of Celadon City, lots of questions raced through his head at nearly the same speed. Why was Team Rocket after him? Hadn't they given up on him long ago? Why did they think he had stolen a Chaos Emerald? What happened to that chili dog dispenser they used to have?

These could wait. Right now, he focused on getting as far away from them as he could, knowing full well their intentions couldn't be anything but malicious. Without thinking, he dashed through the gate leading to Cycling Road and dashed down it.

Not far behind him, Ash and Pikachu were pursuing him, trying to catch up and see what was going on. He stopped at the gate to Cycling Road.

"Blast!" he cursed. "Now what're we gonna do?"

"_Pika pika!_"

"May's new bike?! No way! Remember what happened to her old one?"

"_Piiiii,_" Pikachu sighed.

"Did someone mention they needed a bike?"

Ash turned and saw his brunette friend standing in front of him, all smiles and shopping bags. Her bike was right next to her.

"Yeah," he nodded. "But I didn't want it to...well, you know."

"Then let's trade!" she offered. "I'll take Pikachu, you take the bike. That way, nothing can happen to it!"

"Uh...okay," he shrugged, blushing slightly. "Is that okay with you, Pikachu?"

"_Pika,_" Pikachu nodded, jumping off of Ash's shoulder and into his friend's arms.

"All right," he mounted the bike and took off. "Thanks, May!"

"Anytime!" she called after him, hiding a blush on her cheeks. Pikachu looked between the two of them, uncertainty clouding his eyes. They'd been acting different around each other recently. He didn't understand why, but he was curious. And whenever a Pokemon gets curious, it feels a need to satisfy its curiosity.

He was also nervous. Ash and May had been good friends for a long time. They'd been through a lot together and had so much in common. He couldn't think of any good reason why they would suddenly stop being friends. Besides, Pikachu liked May! He didn't want to stop seeing her, and he sure as heck didn't want Ash to stop.

"Come on, Pikachu," May scratched behind the little Pokemon's ear. "Let's go get some dinner. We'll catch up with Ash later. Besides, we can hang out with Amy!" Pikachu sighed and smiled. He had nothing against that.

* * *

"Whew!" Sonic wiped his forehead (or whatever he had). "This is ridiculous. How long do they wanna play?" It was nighttime now.

THUNK! He whirled around. A seven-foot-tall Rocket mech had landed and clearly had its sights set on him. "Target located," the agent manning the machine said into a comlink. "Blue hedgehog has been spotted just outside of Fuchsia City. Big Foot is set to intercept and destroy."

"Copy that," came the reply.

Sonic cracked his knuckles. "Heheheh...decided to show up, did ya? Okay; bring it on!" The robot launched some missiles at him; they homed in on him, but the blue hedgehog dodged each of them easily and, curling into a ball, jumped up and slammed into the cockpit. The large robot jumped into the air and started hovering, floating around and shooting small bullets out of its "mouth." Sonic, being the fastest thing alive, easily escaped these as well. He jumped up and used his homing attack once again, slamming into the cockpit. The Rocket agent managing the machine pulled out his comlink.

"This is Big Foot coming in: the enemy is stronger than initially anticipated! Requesting backup immediately!" He put it away and turned his focus back to the battle at hand, firing missiles at Sonic again. This time, Sonic ran right in front of the cockpit. The missiles followed him and, as soon as they were about to hit, he bent down, swatted his rear in front of the agent, and jumped up. The missiles hit the Big Foot dead on, exploding on impact.

"How do ya like them apples?" Sonic taunted. "Have a nice trip!" He stood there for a moment to catch his breath, but something else caught his eye. "What?!"

A black hedgehog stood on top of what was the Rocket mech Big Foot, holding something glowing in his hand. "It all starts with this," he mused to himself, not thinking nor caring that anyone was listening. "A jewel containing the ultimate power."

Sonic's eyes widened. "That's the..._Chaos Emerald!_" Suddenly, all his questions from before were answered: Team Rocket was after him because they thought he had stolen a Chaos Emerald! In reality, it was this faker who had done it. "Now I know what's going on!" he shouted angrily. "Team Rocket's mistaken me for the likes of _you_! So...where do you think _you're_ going with that emerald?" The black hedgehog noticed him walking towards him now, then picking up his speed to a run. "_Say something, you fake hedgehog!_" he roared, charging at him.

The black hedgehog just smiled and closed his eyes, shouting: "Chaos...CONTROL!" With that, he disappeared just before Sonic was on top of him. Sonic continued pursuing him in vain, confused.

"How can he use Chaos Control with only one emerald?!" he wondered in shock. "It took seven just to get us into this mess!" He was referring to the incident in which Dr. Eggman had gathered all seven Chaos Emeralds and accidentally set off a massive Chaos Control that sent them all from their homeworld of Mobius to Pocket World. They'd been trying to get home ever since.

"My name is Shadow," came the black hedgehog's voice. Sonic saw him standing on top of the roof of a building, tossing the emerald in his hand. "I'm the world's ultimate life form. There's no time to play games; _Farewell!_" With that, he disappeared in a flash of blinding light.

"Shadow?!" Sonic repeated, shielding his eyes and completely confused. "What's that supposed to –?!"

"DON'T MOVE, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!" came a voice from above. "PUT YOUR HANDS WHERE WE CAN SEE THEM!" Sonic opened his eyes. He was surrounded by a massive arsenal of Team Rocket agents and mechs. There'd be no escaping this time.

"Aw, shoot," he muttered, surrendering. "I guess these questions will just have to wait. Boy...I sure hope that chili dog dispenser is wherever these goons are taking me."

"Sonic!"

He turned towards the voice. Ash stood there, hands on his knees, panting. "Ash?"

"Whatever happened to 'two minutes?!'" the Pokemon trainer snapped.

"This happened," Sonic replied as the grunts shoved him into a chopper.

"They can't just take you away like this!" Ash cried. "This isn't right!"

"Hey!" Sonic smiled. "Don't sweat it. I'll be outta this mess before ya know it!" With that, he gave Ash a thumbs-up and entered the chopper, followed by the two agents. The whole squad of Rocket then disappeared as quickly as they had appeared, leaving Ash alone, confused and unsure of what to do next.

"I better go find the others," he decided after a moment. "They won't be happy about this, but they need to know." He quickly mounted May's bike again and headed back towards Celadon.

* * *

"I still don't think it was very nice of the boss to leave us out of the fun like that," Jessie of Team Rocket moaned. "I wanted to pilot a chopper."

"And I wanted to catch me some blue blur," her partner James added.

"Well, if we could just stop mopin' and start workin', maybe we'd get more work to do and feel like we actually had a job!" their talking cat-like Pokemon, Meowth, snapped at them.

"It's very strange," Jessie muttered. "I always thought that blue twerp was a good guy. Why would he go and steal an emerald like that?"

"Probably desperate to go home," Meowth shrugged. "I told ya we couldn't trust these creeps."

"Well, if we can't get ourselves a blue blur, let's get ourselves a large, green emerald. How about it?" James suggested, pointing. They looked up and smiled mischievously: a large, bright green emerald stood in front of them, glowing brightly. They stepped forward to take it.

Then something landed in front of them, or rather some_one_: a red echidna with a white crescent moon on his chest. "Get away from that!" he snarled, holding his spiked fists.

"Aw, great," Meowth grumbled. "Not the red twerp. That's the last thing we need."

"Just ignore him," James sighed. "He doesn't know when to give up."

The red echidna was even more annoyed, now. "What the devil are you talking about?! That emerald is _mine!_"

"Not anymore," Jessie sneered, lifting it out of its place.

"Put it down!" he shouted, reaching for it, but then it lifted out of Jessie's hands. Something else had grabbed it: a mechanical arm, controlled by:

"Eggman!" the red echidna exclaimed.

"Long time no see, Knuckles!" the evil scientist sneered from above. "Sorry I can't stay and catch up, but I've got an evil scheme up my sleeve, and I require this emerald to get it done! Don't worry; I'll take very good care of it and when I return it, it won't look a day past forever! But that won't matter, because when I return it, the world will be mine!" With that, he flew away, followed only by Knuckles' angry shouts. Eventually, the knuckle-headed echidna calmed down, irritated.

"All talk and no play. Typical. I guess I've got a job to do." With that, he ran off. Jessie, James, and Meowth looked at him as he ran off, confused.

"Um...what just happened?" Jessie asked aloud.

"I feel like I just got plopped into a video game," James replied.

"Hey, come on!" Meowth snapped them out of it. "That emerald could be our ticket to promotion. We need to get it back!"

"Right!" they all cheered. "Easy Street, here we come!"

"_Wobbbbbuffet!_"


	4. Chapter 3: Rival Plans

Chapter 3: Rival Plans

May and Amy were watching the news in the hotel room, stunned by what they were being told. "I can't believe it," Amy exclaimed. "Sonic the Hedgehog, the most wonderful creature ever to exist: a thief?! I just can't believe it."

May rolled her eyes. _Give it up, Amy_ she wanted to say. _He's just not that into you._ She looked down and started twiddling her fingers anxiously as something else crossed her mind. _Is _he _into _me, _though? It would be a joyful thing if he was, but –_

"Hey!"

Amy's shout snapped May out of her small funk. "Huh?"

"I said, do you think he did it?"

May shook her head. "Not for a minute. After all this time, after all he's done...I just don't think he would stoop that low. It's just not like him."

That was when they heard a knock at the door. Amy went to get it and found Sonic's best friend Tails standing there, a worried look on his face. "Hey, Tails. Come on in."

"I guess you guys heard then, huh?" the two-tailed fox sighed sadly. "Hey, May."

"Hey, Tails. Yep. Sonic's in trouble. I just don't understand it. There's only one Sonic the Hedgehog, and he's a real hero. I don't understand why he would go and do something like this? Eggman must be trying to frame him or something!"

"You've sure got a lot of faith in him," Tails noted.

"What, you don't?" May asked, slightly surprised.

"No, I do!" Tails assured her. "It's just...I have more than enough reason to have faith in him. You've only known him a little less than a year. You didn't even trust him at first. Where does your faith come from?"

May sighed, a small smile on her face, and she looked at her tan fanny pack laying to the side on top of her red bandana. There were a few important things in there: the essentials, really, as well as a treasure she carried everywhere she went. She was eyeing the pocket this treasure was in.

"I have faith in him because he's proven his worth as a hero," she told them. "Just like Ash proved his worth to me, Sonic did the same. Ash never let me down; why should Sonic?" There was a hint of melancholy in her voice, and Amy caught on to this.

"Uh, May?" she asked awkwardly. "You don't...um...do you...er...?"

"What?"

Before Amy could spit it out, there was a pounding on the door. Tails ran to get it. "Ash! You're here!"

"Yeah," he breathed hard, a gland of sweat falling down his cheek. "Hey, Amy. I'm guessing you heard about Sonic?"

"Just watched the news," she nodded sadly.

"Ash," May asked, "have you seen him today?"

"Yeah. We were hanging out in the park after he ran away from – er, I mean, decided to chill out for a while." He proceeded to tell them everything that had happened since then.

"Then Team Rocket's captured him?" May repeated, somewhat incredulous.

"Yes," Ash nodded worriedly. "I don't know where they're keeping him, but I'm sure we can figure it out."

"But what could Team Rocket want with Sonic?" Amy wondered aloud.

"Maybe they want that Chaos Emerald," Tails suggested.

"That's my guess," Ash nodded. "But they already have three of them at that old factory they built on New Island, and that's more than enough to keep them running. Their boss said it himself that they wouldn't need any more."

"Power hungry criminals," May grumbled under her breath. "That's probably why they went for broke."

"Well, as long as we're sitting here wondering what the heck they're up to, they're probably furthering their plans," Amy folded her arms impatiently.

"You're right," Ash nodded. "I guess our questions will have to wait. Let's hatch a plan and save Sonic!" The others cheered and began formulating a plan.

* * *

"What was the password again?" James asked, a derpy expression on his face.

"Oh, you miserable – you're even worse than the twerps!" Meowth groaned.

"I just have convenient lapses of memory, that's all," he defended himself. They had made their way into Dr. Eggman's secret base on Mt. Moon and were trying to figure out the doctor's whereabouts.

"Just get offa that and let me do this!" Jessie growled impatiently, pushing him off.

"No! Last time you did this, you only made things worse!" James retorted, leaping back up and pushing her back. What ensued was a pushing match between the two to see who would get the seat. Eventually, Jessie got the upper hand and started slamming James's face into the keyboard repeatedly

"Hey, come on!" Meowth shrieked. "Knock it off, will ya?! This aint getting us nowhere!"

Suddenly, the screen in front of them flashed, throwing them back and blinding them. Their eyes quickly adjusted and started reading what the screen said.

"Well, that works," Jessie shrugged.

"Oh, _that's_ what the password was," James remembered. Meowth facepalmed.

"Wait a minute, what?" Jessie exclaimed out loud. The other two looked at what she was reading.

"Dr. Eggman has gone to…" James read.

"Space Colony ARK?" Meowth finished.

"But why would he go there?" Jessie wondered. "That space colony's been shut down for 50 years."

"I don't know," Meowth reiterated what they already knew. "All I know is that he's got a gem that's worth a fortune, and when we get it, we'll have our promotions and our moola!"

"That's right!" James smiled, thinking of the new outfit he could get. He and Jessie always wore white shirts with their signature red "R" plastered on, even though all of their cohorts wore the usual black. They decided that when they got their promotions, they would swap outfits.

"Well, James, set up a rocket ship," Jessie ordered. "Team Rocket's blasting off at the speed of light!"

"Oh yeah!" Meowth cheered.

"Right!" James nodded. "Er...what was the password again?"

"SERIOUSLY?!" the other two facepalmed.

* * *

Dr. Eggman sat in his pod-walker at the core of the Space Colony, waiting for Shadow to get there. He'd been waiting for a while and was starting to wonder if Shadow had decided to ditch him. Fortunately, right as these thoughts crossed his mind, he saw the black hedgehog step out of his namesake.

"I've been waiting for you, Doctor," he greeted him.

"_You_ have? How long was I sitting here?" Eggman replied.

"Twenty seconds."

Eggman looked at the clock in his machine. "Is my clock really that bad?"

"Yep."

Eggman facepalmed. "Well, you said all would be revealed in time. Reveal away!"

"Don't be so hasty," Shadow put a hand up to stop him. "You and I have common knowledge here, Doctor."

"Knowledge?"

"Your grandfather, Professor Gerald Robotnik, and his granddaughter, Maria, lived on this Space Colony before their deaths. This was where I was born."

Eggman nodded. "Then it _was_ you who they created. I hadn't quite expected that, but after my dealings with that pesky blue hedgehog, I'd say this is a welcome surprise."

Shadow wasn't listening. "The professor had many plans, as you know. You may suppose me to be his only legacy, but there is something here that even you do not know of." With that, the black hedgehog placed his hand on a screen of sorts. Suddenly, the walls surrounding them lifted up, revealing a control panel with seven niches.

Eggman's eyes widened. "Are those –?"

"Yes, Doctor," Shadow nodded. "These are for the seven Chaos Emeralds."

"But what's all this for?"

"The professor created a weapon powerful enough to destroy an entire planet when powered by all the Chaos Emeralds," Shadow explained, slamming his emerald into one of the niches. "This weapon he codenamed: the Eclipse Cannon."

"Eclipse Cannon?" Eggman breathed in wonder.

"Yes, Doctor. With the power of this weapon, you'll have the fate of the world below us in your hands. They will have no choice but to comply with you, lest you should destroy the planet." Shadow looked him square in the eye. "_And the world will be yours._"

"Oooooohohohohooo!" Eggman laughed gleefully. "Shadow, you are a true genius! This is better than anything I could come up with on my own!" Shadow just stood there, a small smirk on his face. _Just as I hoped_ he thought. "We shall get the rest of the emeralds and bring them here! I have two powering this thing."

"Where are the others?"

"There are three in that one place where you were: that Team Rocket factory on New Island. Those might be a problem, though. How will we get them?"

"Just say please!"

The two of them whirled around to see a threesome drop from the ceiling. The two humans, a boy and a girl, wore identical white shirts with a red "R" plastered onto them. The girl had fiery magenta hair that was styled in such a way that it extended from the back of her head into a curl. The boy had shoulder-length lavender hair. The third member was a cat-like Pokemon standing on its hind legs.

"What in the world – I mean, space?!" Eggman exclaimed.

"Who the devil are you?" Shadow growled menacingly.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double! Fwahahaha!"

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of the truthful and righteous."

"To extend our reach to the stars beside us."

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket's blasting off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"_Wobbbbbbufet!_"

"Of course, I should've known," Eggman growled. "Team Rocket never goes down without a fight."

"Seems like the little incident at New Island didn't give them reason enough to back off!" Shadow snapped, bracing himself for a fight.

"Now, hold on a minute!" Jessie held her hand out, motioning for them to stop. "We come in peace."

"Right, after the way I infiltrated your factory? I don't think so!" Eggman snapped.

"Please, hear us out!" James pleaded. "We wish to offer our services."

"We don't need your help," Shadow replied coldly.

"Do ya want the Chaos Emeralds or not?!" Meowth grumbled. That got their attention.

"We know how to get into the factory," Jessie informed them.

"We can help you infiltrate it," James continued.

"And the emeralds will be all yours!" Meowth smiled.

"Please accept our gracious offer!" they bowed, hands over their hearts. Shadow shook his head. _Sincere? Yes. Pathetic? Completely._

"I suppose we could use a little assistance," Eggman shrugged. "But if you decide to pull any tricks, it'll be your necks." Shadow looked at him, surprised. _That should've been my line._

"You can help," Shadow nodded. "But one fowl play, and...well, take it from the doctor." With that, he grabbed the Chaos Emerald from the niche on the Eclipse Cannon, and they started out, laying out the plan for Team Rocket, while they filled in the blanks.


	5. Chapter 4: Attack on New Island

Chapter 4: Attack on New Island

After 24 hours of briefing, Eggman, Shadow, and Team Rocket were ready to execute their operation.

"All right; let's go over this one more time," Eggman got down to business, pulling up a screen on his pod-walker. "I'll go in and distract them while you four go in and do your jobs. Rockets: you need to go in and snatch the Chaos Emeralds. And Shadow, do not forget to plant that bomb, understand? I don't want any evidence of our actions left when we're done here."

"Don't worry," Shadow assured him almost callously. "Consider it done."

"Good. Let's get going. We've only got thirty minutes to pull this off; if we fail, it's game over!"

"That sounds gruesome," James muttered.

They started out by heading onto the landing strip for air vehicles at the Rocket factory, destroying everything in sight. No retaliation was made thanks to the Rocket trio's hackery. "Good start. Nice work, Team Rocket, on getting us in with your password. Now, let's get this show on the –"

He was interrupted by a voice that was clearly female, crying:

"Sonic! Oh my goodness, I'm so glad you're okay. I thought you were trapped, but you got away!" Eggman and Team Rocket turned towards Shadow and saw a pink hedgehog hugging him. Shadow was puzzled.

"Uh…" Jessie stuttered, unsure of what to say.

"This is awkward," Meowth mused.

The pink hedgehog suddenly pulled away, realizing something. "Wait a minute...you're not Sonic! What's –?!"

"Grah! Leave this to me!" Eggman grumbled. "You four! Go! Get to work!" They nodded and dashed off while he advanced on Amy, grinning wickedly. "Don't worry, little lady. I'll make this quick and easy."

"Oh no!" she cried. "Why am I always getting into these situations?"

"Back off, Eggman!"

"_Nya!_" Eggman's pod-walker was knocked back by something ramming into the front of it.

"Urgh!" Eggman grunted. He looked up to see a pink and white kitten Pokemon in front of him, its mouth curled into a frown. Since its eyes were perpetually closed, they didn't contribute to its expression much. Behind it was a human with shoulder-length brown hair that hung at her sides. She wore white and black biker gloves, a red blouse, blue biker shorts, a white skirt, and red shoes. A red bandana with a white Pokeball symbol adorned her head.

"You just can't get enough, can you, _princess?_" Eggman taunted her.

"I've got a friend to protect," she replied.

"Thanks, May," the pink hedgehog smiled.

"Anytime, Amy," May replied. "Now, Skitty! Use Assist!"

"_Nyaaaa nya-nya-nya-nya!_" Skitty held its glowing paw up, and small flames shot out at Eggman. They didn't faze him too much.

"Not bad," he sneered. "But it'll take more than that to stop me."

"Then try this on for size! Skitty! Use Tackle!" The kitten Pokemon obeyed, charging straight at him. But just as she was about to ram into him, a punching glove jumped out and swatted her away. May gasped. "Skitty!" Skitty's eyes turned into swirls, and May recalled her.

"Better luck next time, princess!" Eggman laughed, gratified that she fell right into his trap. "Now I'll finish the two of you off!" He started advancing towards them again.

* * *

"It's still hard to believe," Tails sighed sadly. "Why would people doubt Sonic? He never did anything like this before. Why should he now?"

"People are stupid," Ash explained. "They want answers right away, and they'll take whatever they can get." They were flying in the X-Tornado, Tails' superplane, towards New Island. Tails had located Sonic, and they were going to find him. "How much farther to go?"

"We're just about here, actually," Tails replied. "Oh no! Amy and May!"

"Huh?"

"Look!"

They saw Eggman advancing on Amy and May, who were backed against a wall.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Let's get down there and help them!"

"Right!" He flew the Tornado down and landed in front of Eggman. "I'll take care of Eggman; you take them and go find Sonic!"

"Roger!" Ash nodded quickly, leaping out of the Tornado and rushing over to them.

"Thank goodness!" May sighed with relief.

"Come on," Ash said, grabbing her hand and running off. May grabbed Amy's hand as they ran off, blushing slightly. Thankfully, Ash couldn't see it. This wasn't the first time he'd held her hand in time of trouble, and she hoped it wouldn't be the last.

She started. _Did that thought really just pop into my head?!_ she wondered, surprised. _Well, then again, I really shouldn't be surprised._

A few minutes later, they stopped to catch their breath. "You two all right?"

"Yeah," they nodded.

"Good," he pumped a fist. "Now let's go find Sonic!"

* * *

Sonic was restless. He'd spent 24 hours in this prison cell, and he'd been pacing for the last two. Anyone would get tired from pacing that long, but given his reputation as the world's fastest hedgehog, it made sense why he wasn't prone to such limited physical capacity.

His prison was in a massive underwater bubble with only one entry way from above. Someone was coming down that way right now. Expecting a Rocket agent, Sonic braced himself for a match, hoping that he could manage to work past the cuffs that held him. Sure enough, a Rocket agent was standing right there when the door opened.

Then something swatted him in the back of the head, and he fell down in a heap, revealing four friends behind him: Ash, Pikachu, May, and Amy.

"Sonic!" Amy screamed, running to hug him. Sonic didn't bother trying to run away, but he was still offset by this; he always was.

"Yargh!" he groaned. "Nice to see you too, Amy."

"Come on, ya lovebirds," Ash chuckled, taking the Rocket agent's keys to the cuffs and unbinding Sonic. "Don't get your underwear twisted in a knot."

"We don't wear underwear," Sonic replied.

"Whatever," May interjected. "At least we found the real Sonic. That Chaos Emerald must've been stolen by that black fake."

"Black fake?" Sonic perked.

"That's right. Amy saw him and thought he was you; of course that only got her in trouble with Eggman."

"Wait a minute," Sonic exclaimed. "That black hedgehog was with Eggman?"

"Is there something you're not telling us?"

"I'd love to tell you, but I don't have time!" he cried; they all went back up to the surface and the blue blur dashed away frantically.

"So it was Eggman," Ash nodded.

"I might have known," May added.

"_Pika,_" Pikachu muttered.

"I'm gonna go see if I can find him," Ash told them. "You all go find Tails."

"Right," they nodded and dashed off to find the two-tailed fox, but May stayed behind. Ash, meanwhile, headed deeper into the island, with May in tow.

"Careful!" she warned him from behind, startling him a little.

"You're not going with them?"

"Two's always better than one, right?" she smiled.

Ash nodded, and they continued their infiltration of New Island.

* * *

"How much longer do we have?" James spoke into his walkie-talkie.

"If Eggman doesn't get back to us soon, we'll have to go for it," Jessie replied through hers. They'd split up to cover more of the warehouse in which the Chaos Emeralds were hidden. "He said we had thirty minutes to get this done; I've counted ten."

"I really hope they're not setting us up," Meowth grumbled into his link. "They said they were gonna blow up the island when we were done here."

"Nobody's going to blow up today," Jessie assured them. "If this is a trap, we'll spring it right back on them."

They waited a little longer. Then they heard a voice come over their walkie-talkies:

"I'm in position, Doctor. Tell me when." It was Shadow.

Eggman's voice replied: "There's been an unexpected delay on my end. Don't waste anymore time. Set that bomb for fifteen minutes. Team Rocket, you've only got five minutes to get the emeralds out of there before the warehouse goes into flames, got it?"

"That's plenty of time to recover these emeralds," Jessie smirked. "Team Rocket, blast off!"

"Roger!" James and Meowth cheered in succession. With that, they set out to find the three emeralds. But even when they split up, they had a hard time scoping out the whole of the warehouse, as it was large enough to hold a football game inside of. Fortunately, the security system in there had been completely shut down thanks to their hackery. In two and a half minutes, they were able to locate and retrieve the Chaos Emeralds.

But just as they all regrouped with two minutes to spare, an alarm started blaring. They froze. The security was back up! A hovering mech was staring down at them menacingly.

"Oh no!" James squealed. "What are we going to do?!"

"Quick!" Jessie whipped out a Pokeball. "Dustox! Blind them with Poisonpowder!"

The Pokeball opened and released a lavender moth-like Pokemon. Repeating its name, Dustox released a cloud of lavender dust that caused the mech to spark a little, indicating that some of its functions had failed.

"Now, Cacnea!" James whipped out his own Pokeball, releasing a small, cactus-like Pokemon with needled arms. "Use Needle Arm on the cockpit!"

Cacnea obeyed, slamming his glowing arm into the cockpit and sending the mech crashing into the wall. It fell down, out of commission.

"There! Now let's get outta here before we run into more trouble!" Meowth shouted as they recalled their Pokemon.

"Right! Er, wait...was it left?" James wondered.

"No, it was down Aisle 1, left on Broadway, right at Burger King, and...wait, what?" Jessie twiddled her fingers and started trembling nervously.

"Oh, no," Meowth breathed. "Don't tell me…"

"LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET'S GOTTEN LOST AGAIN!" they cried.


	6. Chapter 5: Terraforming

Chapter 5: Terraforming

Shadow had just planted the bomb and set it to go off in fifteen minutes. As he started into the jungle, he heard his walkie-talkie sizzle. Curious, he pulled it out to see what was going on.

"Doctor! We're stuck!" came the voice of one of those pathetic Rocket trio. "Hello? Anybody?!" came another voice. "Please don't let us blow up!" came a third.

Shadow spazzed suddenly as a detestably familiar image blasted through his mind: a human girl leaning on a cylinder, breathing hard, knowing she would last much longer. When he got himself under control, he cursed:

"Stupid Rockets!" With that, he dashed off into the jungle. He only had ten minutes to find them and get off this cursed island before it ceased to exist. He skated as fast as his hover shoes could go, and that was almost as fast as Sonic could go, but he wasn't sure his speed would get him to them in time. The jungle was a dense place.

* * *

Sonic stopped his escapade for a moment to catch his breath. Running hadn't tired him, but the prospect of being pursued by Team Rocket never welcomed him. This was a stressful situation.

That's when a familiar shape caught his eye: his own, but with black and red fur. "Is that –?!"

The black hedgehog turned sharply and cursed silently. "Not that blue hedgehog again! Of all the times to show up, he picked now!"

"Well, well, well," Sonic advanced towards him determinedly. "Seems I finally found you, faker!"

"_Faker?_" Shadow repeated, genuinely shocked. "I think _you're_ the fake hedgehog around here. You're comparing yourself to me? That's a laugh! You're not even good enough to be my fake!"

"I'll make you eat those words!" Sonic shouted, charging at him. Shadow leapt out of the way and Sonic narrowly stopped himself from falling into the water below.

"I don't have time to play games," Shadow snapped. "You won't even get a chance."

"You're not getting away this time," Sonic snapped right back. "There's only one Sonic the Hedgehog in this world, and suffice to say, _you're_ not him!"

"In a moment, there won't be a Sonic!" Shadow snapped back, discerning that Sonic was this faker's name. He leapt at him, curling into a spinning ball. Sonic did likewise, and they bounced off each other furiously. Sonic saw he wasn't getting anywhere and decided on a different approach. He let Shadow come at him with his attack, then leapt out of the way at the last second. Shadow looked around, puzzled, then Sonic roundhouse-kicked him in the back of the head. The black hedgehog stood up angrily and charged at Sonic. Unable to dodge in time the blue blur took a fist to the face, and his back hit the ground. Determined, he leapt back up and charged at Shadow. Shadow jumped up to dodge, but Sonic was expecting this and, following Shadow's line of jump, skidded over to his potential landing spot and slammed the black hedgehog away with a fist. The next thing he felt was a kick to the back of the head from Shadow, knocking his face into the ground. Sonic somersaulted back onto his feet, clearly annoyed.

"That was cheap!" he snapped. "You teleported!"

"I don't play by a faker's rules," Shadow snapped back.

"Neither do I!" Sonic shouted, homing in on Shadow once again. They clashed a few more times in this manner before Shadow adjusted his strategy once again. When Sonic came charging at him with his homing attack, he used Chaos Control and let Sonic slam into the wall behind him. He reused this strategy for a little while before he decided to stop, as he was getting exhausted from using Chaos energy. Sonic was panting as well. They stared at each other, knowing full well they couldn't keep this up forever.

* * *

"No sign of Eggman anywhere!" Ash grumbled.

"Do you think he got away?" May suggested.

"Maybe," he sighed, disappointed.

"_Pika,_" Pikachu sighed likewise. They were deep into Prison Island now, but strangely no Rocket agents had decided to bother them.

May put a hand on his shoulder. "Well, at least we saved Sonic. That's what we came for, right?"

"Yeah," Ash nodded. "But I still wanted to give that imposter a piece of my mind. Sonic didn't deserve this."

"Don't worry. Considering he's got you to worry about, he'll probably get his just desserts."

Ash's face heated up. This wasn't the first time May had complimented him, but for some reason this time it had a different effect. He couldn't explain it, but his mind started going mildly dizzy. Suddenly, he wondered if she was feeling the same way.

_Beep beep. Beep beep._

"Huh?" The beeping sound snapped them both out of their little world. A walkie-talkie laid on the ground, a sizzling sound coming from it. May picked it up and turned up the volume.

"Shadow!" they heard it bark. It was Eggman. "What are you doing?! Get outta there before the whole island blows up with you on it!"

* * *

"BLOWS UP?!" Ash and Sonic both screamed at the same time. Shadow looked perfectly furious, and dashed away. Team Rocket, being the nincompoops that they were, were still stuck most likely. There wasn't a moment to lose.

* * *

"Well, I guess we found Eggman!" May shrieked as they ran for their lives.

"Forget about Eggman; let's get outta here!" Ash yelled as they ran.

"Where are we going to go? We don't even know where Tails is!"

"We need to go to where he landed."

"How do you know he's there?"

"I don't! But it's the last place he was. If there's any way off this island, it's there. Come on!"

They continued dashing on, their feet pounding the ground, attracting the attention of some Rocket agents. Irritated at the intruders, one of them pulled out a magnet machine and activated it, pulling on any electrical currents in the vicinity, including that of…

"_Pikachu!_" Pikachu screamed as he was pulled from Ash's shoulder.

"Pikachu!" Ash screamed, grabbing for him but missing.

The Rocket agent laughed. "Now you see what happens when you get on Team Rocket's bad side!"

Ash turned to May. "You need to get outta here. Go to where Tails landed. I'll meet you there as soon as I can."

"Don't get hurt, Ash," she nodded.

"I'll do my best," he replied.

She smiled. "That's enough for me." Then she turned tail and ran while Ash reached for a Pokeball but then stopped, realizing this would probably get caught by the magnetic machine as well. Growling angrily, he climbed up the stack of crates to where the Rocket agents were. They jumped him all at once, but he, thinking quickly, rolled underneath them so that they fell into a heap. He snatched Pikachu in his arms and made a break for it.

In no time at all, he found Tails right where he had left him. Sonic and Amy were there, too.

But May was nowhere to be found.

"Where's May?" Sonic asked worriedly.

"What?! She didn't come back?!" Ash cried in shock.

"Wasn't she with you?" Tails asked.

"I sent her back here alone when something happened. She must still be in there!" He turned back to rush in, but Sonic stopped him.

"There's no time!" he said. "We need to get outta here now!"

Ash looked at Sonic, then at the base, then at Sonic again, and heaved an angry sigh through gritted teeth.

* * *

"Fine time to get lost!" May growled angrily. "I should've stayed with him! Urgh...which way is out?!"

"Well, ya could ask for directions. Unless you're just like your best twerp."

May turned on hearing the familiar voice of Team Rocket's Meowth. "Oh, no," she moaned. "Just what I need."

"Relax," Meowth assured her. "We're just as stuck as you are. In fact, we've been waiting for help to arrive."

"But it looks like we're doomed to blast off one last time," James sighed dejectedly.

"Well, as long as we go out in style, it can't be that bad," Jessie sighed with him in a vain attempt to comfort themselves.

It was no use. "GOODBYE, CRUEL WORLD!" they cried their eyes out. That was when a sudden flash of light slashed the backdrop behind them, from which dropped a black hedgehog.

May gasped. "It's him!"

* * *

The X-Tornado flew away from the doomed island as fast as it could, just narrowly escaping the massive, apocalyptic explosion that decimated the island and any and all life unfortunate enough to be on there when it went under. As the explosion rocked the island into oblivion, it fell into the sea, smoldering.

New Island was no more.

Only Sonic, Tails, Amy, and Ash escaped the catastrophe, making their way back to the mainland and camping out for the night.

"It's a good thing we came when we did," Tails sighed in relief to Sonic. "A day too late and we would've lost you."

"Please don't get caught like that again," Amy wept, holding onto him. Sonic sighed and pulled her off of him.

"Relax, Amy," he smiled. "This is nothing I haven't put up with before. I'm not going anywhere any time soon. Everything's going to be okay!" He gave her a thumbs-up. Amy and Tails smiled.

"Yep!" Tails smiled. "We're all going to be just fine!" They chuckled.

"I won't be."

They turned to see their human friend and his eternal companion dejectedly sitting on a log, the brim of his signature hat pulled over his eyes. There was something in his hand, a treasure to be precise: a treasure he carried everywhere she went.

"Why not?" Amy asked.

"How can I be?" he looked up at her, slightly angered. "One of my best friends was caught in the explosion that sent that island into the Distortion World!" He looked down again, choking on his words. "I'll never see her again, and I never even got to tell her that I –" he stopped, holding his words back.

"What? You what?" Sonic asked. He was just as dense as Ash was, really.

Ash shook his head and stood up. "Nothing." He started walking away.

"Where are you going?" Amy asked.

"To get some firewood," he called back, not looking back. Sonic looked to the side, puzzled. A stack of firewood sat there, ready to burn.

"Huh," he shrugged.


	7. Chapter 6: Memories of Vengeance

Chapter 6: Memories of Vengeance

_A young woman stood beside the window looking out into the vast beyond, her long blonde hair flowing down to the middle of her back. Her sky-blue eyes shimmered on the window's image, a smile displayed on her face._

"_Will we ever get to visit the world below?" her companion asked._

"_One day," she replied. "I hope."_

_Her companion was a black hedgehog with red stripes on his spines, arms, and legs. A neutral expression lined his face, one that spoke uncertainty in volumes._

"_What do you think it's like down there?" she asked him._

_He sighed. "More wonderful than what we have up here, I hope. Do you think the professor will find a way to save you?"_

"_Even if he doesn't, you will still have a life of your own to live. Maybe you can go down there and experience everything we wanted to experience together."_

"_I don't want to experience it alone," he looked at her longingly. "I want to experience it with you."_

"_There are no guarantees. I wish I could say there was, but I can't." She knelt down and put her hands on his shoulders, staring deeply into his eyes. "If it doesn't work, you need to be strong. Can you do that for me?"_

_He looked into her eyes, stuttering. "M-Maria…"_

"_Please, Shadow."_

_Confidence swelled up in him, and he nodded. "Yes, Maria. I will be strong for you."_

_She smiled. "Thank you, Shadow."_

* * *

"Whew!" Meowth wheezed. "That was a close one!"

"I thought for sure we were done for!" Jessie sighed with relief.

"Now hopefully we can get what we came here for," James added. They were back on the ARK now; they'd returned after the attack on New Island.

"If you're looking for a salary, forget about it." They turned on hearing the sharp voice. Shadow was standing there, a cold stare in his eye that screamed massive rage.

"We weren't asking for anything," Jessie put her hands out reassuringly.

"Good," Shadow snapped, turning back to move on to the business he was attending to.

"Where are you going?" James stupidly asked.

"To visit the prisoner."

"Right," Jessie replied uncertainly, turning back towards her companions.

Shadow, meanwhile, entered into a secluded cell occupied by one occupant. The prisoner was hunched over, tightly wrapped in a blanket and shivering. Callously turning away, he chucked a mouthful of bread at the lump, grunting as he did so, and started walking away.

"Is this supposed to make me feel better?" the girl asked. He turned. She was holding the bread in her fist, an angry expression lining her sapphire eyes.

"No," he said simply, turning back to leave.

"Then what is it for?"

He stopped again, smirking slightly. "It's supposed to make you feel worse." He started out again.

"Then you're wasting your time." he stopped, turning back to her in confusion.

"What do you mean by that?"

She let the blanket she had fall as she stood up. "He's going to save me. I know he is."

"Who?"

"Ash."

He shook his head. "You really think he cares about you?"

"Oh, I don't think. I _know._"

"Don't lie to me," he snapped. "And to yourself. You and I both know full well: he'll leave you to rot out here. Humans are such cowards. They care for nothing but themselves. Don't waste your energy hoping for a bright future. When we're done up here, _nobody_ will be hoping for a bright future."

"That's a filthy lie!" she shouted, rushing at him angrily. He threw her back skidding a few feet. She sat back up and looked into his eyes, tears on the brim of her own. She could see in them anger and hatred...and yet she could also see something else. _Pain? Suffering? I don't understand...why –?_

"Stay awake," he growled. "I'd hate to see you well rested." He chuckled at that last part and started out again, but he stopped when he heard her say:

"Don't let me down, Ash. You never let me down before, and I know you won't let me down now. You've got to be strong. Can you do that for me?" There was a brief pause as she choked on her words. "Please, Ash!"

Shadow looked down, sudden shame engulfing him. _Maria_ he thought.

"Huh?"

He turned back, confused. _Did I say that out loud?_ "I didn't say anything."

"I thought you said my name."

"I didn't."

"What did you say?"

Shadow turned away, trying to fight the sudden onslaught of emotion. "That's none of your business!" he shouted, walking briskly out. The door slammed shut behind him.

May looked on, confused. "What _did_ he say?"

* * *

"All right; time to show the world what this baby can do!" Eggman cheered as he looked down on the world beneath them.

"Are you sure we're ready to go?" Jessie asked.

"We only have six out of seven emeralds," Meowth reminded him.

"That's more than enough for a demonstration," Shadow sneered, walking into the room. "Let's show this world just what they're up against, shall we?"

"I quite agree!" Eggman sneered. "Get ready, everyone! Rehearsal time is up; this is opening night!"

* * *

After Eggman had made his grand announcement of world domination to the citizens of Pocket World, no one could help but look up as a star in the sky sudden broke in half, leaving one long strand of metal hanging. This strand of metal slowly split into four and expanded, white-hot energy boiling at its starting point. This energy then shot straight out towards another star in the sky and, upon impact, burned much of it to ashes, leaving only half of it intact.

While the rest of the world was terrified of this newfound power, five denizens of Pocket World were appalled.

"What happened to that poor star?!" Amy shrieked.

"Forget about that; where did Eggman get such power?!" Tails cried.

"The Chaos Emeralds," Sonic growled. "There's no other way he could muster enough energy to blow up half of a star."

"Do you think he'll go so far as to destroy the planet?" Tails asked worriedly.

"If he's crazy enough, yes. Either way, we need to stop him," Sonic nodded.

"Then we'd better think of something quick!" Ash snapped. "He said the cannon would fire in 24 hours if we don't surrender."

"But what can we do?" Amy asked. "He's all the way up there, and we – we're stuck down here!"

"Then what do you suggest?" he sarcastically replied. "Surrender? Not a chance. We're going to find a way up there, and he's going to lose!"

"Right on!" Sonic cheered. "But how do we get up there?"

Their conversation was interrupted by a sudden shaking beneath them. They danced around to prevent themselves from falling, confused. Eventually, a red echidna's head popped out of the ground, glancing around, a frown on its face.

"Doggone it!" he cursed. "After hours on hours of digging I'm rewarded with _this?!_ Ugh!"

"What's up, Knuckles?" Sonic asked, puzzled.

"That darn Master Emerald, that's what," Knuckles grumbled. "Eggman stole it from me..._again_...and I've been searching for it ever since."

"What?" Amy exclaimed. "But why would he want the Master Emerald?"

"So he could control the other emeralds," Tails interjected. "If Knuckles had the Master Emerald, he could possibly stop whatever it is Eggman's up to with the Chaos Emeralds." He smirked slightly. "Fortunately, I think I can help with putting a stop to this plan." He whipped out a yellow emerald.

"What?!" everyone exclaimed.

"It's not an actual Chaos Emerald," he assured them. "It's a copy I made after a lot of research. It can mimic the energy waves of the real emeralds, but the minute it reacts with six others, it's pretty much a disaster."

"So if we use that emerald with the other ones Eggman has, we can stop him?" Knuckles thought.

"He's doubtlessly looking for the last one," Tails nodded. "I have the real one with me, too."

"That just leaves the question of how we get up there," Sonic muttered.

"I actually found one of Eggman's bases in my searching," Knuckles informed them. "It's been in use recently, so I'll bet that's where he launched from to get to the ARK."

"Then we'd better get moving!" Amy nodded quickly. "Come on!" They all started off, following Knuckles's lead. Sonic was following in back when he stopped and turned around. Ash was still standing there, holding something to the sky.

"Hey, Baseball Head," Sonic called. "You coming?"

Ash started. "Huh? Oh, yeah!" he said, quickly stuffing what he was holding into his pocket.

Sonic shrugged. "Don't be such a slowpoke!"

"Just don't," Ash put a hand out, stopping him from making any more rash remarks.


	8. Chapter 7: One Emerald More

**Hey, there! It's me, rootedinjesus, the author. I just wanted to send a shout-out to that one guest who reviewed this since I apparently can't reply to them. First of all, thanks for the review. Secondly, I won't be including a whole lot of Advanceshipping, but I will leave some subtle hints of it like I have been doing. It won't go any farther than that, though. Thanks again for the review, and I hope you all enjoy this next chapter!**

**By the way, I kinda rushed on this one, so if something seems off about it, that's why. Also, I don't own Pokemon or Sonic; they both belong to their rightful owners, and this is purely fan-made.**

**But you knew that already!**

Chapter 7: One Emerald More

"The power contained in this cannon is beyond anything I ever imagined," Eggman sneered. "This is the best scheme I could ever execute, and I owe it all to you, Shadow!" They were hanging out in the control room of the ARK. Eighteen hours remained on the countdown.

Shadow just grunted in response. "You seem to be forgetting, Doctor: we still require one Chaos Emerald to harness maximum power. Do you know where it is?"

Eggman's smile faded as quickly as it had spawned. "Right. Right, I knew that. And I know just where to find it! It's...er...um...hang on, it's...no, wait...doh! I don't know where it is."

"Brilliant," Shadow groaned.

"Not to fear; we know just where to find it!"

The two villains turned to see Team Rocket posing for them confidently. "Where?" Eggman asked.

"The twerps have it," James replied. "You can count on us."

"Uh-huh," Shadow nodded blankly. "Like we have been. Just to ensure the job gets done, I'm accompanying you." He turned to Eggman. "We'll be back with something."

"Fair enough," Eggman replied. "With the opening number out of the way, I'd say this is a smooth segue!" He let out a hearty evil laugh as Shadow and Team Rocket left the room.

* * *

"How much farther?" Tails moaned. "I don't know how much longer my legs can keep up."

"Just a little farther," Knuckles replied. "Ah! Here we are!"

"All right!" Sonic cheered. "Let's get this – wait, what?"

"What?"

"Uh, Knuckles," Amy started, "this isn't Mt. Moon."

Knuckles looked around, confused. They were deep inside a forest, but because it was still night, they couldn't really tell that it was completely level as opposed to ascending, like a forest on a mountain should be. "It's not?"

"No," Sonic replied. "Darn it, knucklehead, you don't know anything, do you?!"

"Hey, it's not like I've got a map!"

They started bickering – again – and Tails and Amy just stood to the side, looking at each other worriedly. Ash, on the other hand, just smiled in amusement as he recalled a time when he and May had argued in a similar manner. They'd spent practically the whole day arguing until Team Rocket pulled a fast one; after that, they made up. His smile quickly turned neutral, however, when he realized that he would never make another memory like that again. _Why did I send her away?_ he thought in dismay. _I should've stayed with her; I could've saved her then! Why didn't I?!_ He shook it off when he realized that Sonic and Knuckles were only getting worse. He huffed and nodded at Pikachu and he, getting the hint, shocked them with a Thunderbolt. They looked at the camera stupidly after that and then looked back at each other, eyes wide as can be.

"What exactly were we fighting about?" Sonic asked.

"Whatever it was, it can wait until later," Knuckles shrugged.

"I think I can get us there in time," Ash volunteered. "I am native to this planet, after all."

"That's probably our best bet," Amy nodded. "Lead the way, Ash!"

They made their way out of the forest they were in, which turned out to be Viridian Forest, and found their way to Pewter City. They continued onwards, not willing to waste a second, and weren't far from the mountain when a sudden cloud of smoke blinded them. Everyone started coughing and sputtering.

"What is this?!" Sonic shouted.

"No idea!" Tails replied, choking.

"Oh, no," Ash breathed, realizing just what they were up against.

"You didn't think you were going to get away that easily, did you, you little twerps?"

"Oh, no," Amy realized. "It's them!"

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double! Fwahahaha!"

"To protect the world from devastation."

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love."

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie!"

"James!"

"Team Rocket's blasting off at the speed of light!"

"Surrender now, or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"

"Meowth, that's right!"

"_Wobbbbbbuffet!_"

"It's Team Rocket!" Ash cried. "What do you creeps want?! Trying to steal Pikachu at a time like this?"

"Whoever said we were after Pikachu?" James chuckled.

"We're after something else this time," Jessie sneered.

"That's right!" Meowth repeated. "We're here for the Chaos Emerald!"

"_The Chaos Emerald?!_" the heroes repeated in shock.

"Get the fox!" Meowth shouted, pointing at Tails. "He's got the emerald!" They launched a net at Tails, who was caught underneath it.

"Tails!" Sonic cried, pulling at the net, but it was stuck fast.

"Perfect!" James laughed. "Now, let's haul in our prey!"

"You're not getting away that easily," Ash snapped. "Pikachu! Use Iron Tail on the net!"

"_Chuuuuuuuuu!_" Pikachu growled, slamming his steeled tail through the net and destroying it and freeing Tails.

"Now, use Thunderbolt!"

"_Piiiiikaaaaa...CHUUUUUUUUUU!"_ The yellow mouse Pokemon unleashed a powerful bolt of electricity that shocked Team Rocket and sent them into the sky.

"Curses!" Jessie cursed. "Maybe we should've gone for Pikachu after all."

"What good would that do?!" Meowth snapped. "We came here for the emerald, not the Pikachu!"

"He has a point," James agreed.

"LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF TO THE ARK!"

_Ding._

"Whew!" Tails wiped sweat off his brow as he held the emerald close. "That was a close one! Thanks for you help."

"No problem," Ash smiled. "Let's get to Mt. Moon ASAP! Whatever that means: probably 'as swift as a Porygon!'" Everyone derp-faced.

"Did you really think it would be that easy?"

Everyone froze. "I know that voice," Sonic growled.

"Is it –?" Amy whimpered.

"Yep."

A sudden streak of power slammed into the middle of them and exploded, sending them flying in all directions, unconscious from the shock. In the chaos that followed, the emerald slipped out of Tails's grasp. Pikachu saw this and instinctively ran up towards it, but a dark figure got in his way: a black hedgehog with red eyes and – yeah, you get the picture.

"Going somewhere, little rat?" Shadow growled menacingly. Pikachu was unfazed and simply unleashed a Thunderbolt against his foe. Shadow teleported behind him and kicked him against a tree. "Pathetic," he growled, snatching the emerald. "Finally: the last piece of the puzzle. With this –"

He suddenly felt a weight slam into him and knock him to the ground, forcing him into it. He threw it off and discovered it was a human. The human leapt back onto his feet and charged at him again, but Shadow just teleported.

"You make it look too easy," he taunted him. The human charged at him again, but stopped just before hitting him. Shadow instinctively used Chaos Control, then the human ran to Pikachu.

"You okay, buddy?" Ash asked worriedly.

"_Pika,_" Pikachu whimpered.

"Now," came the voice of Shadow from behind him. "Behold the true power that I possess!"

Pikachu leapt up and used Iron Tail, knocking the emerald out of his hand. It fell into the ground and embedded itself. Pikachu started digging for it, but Shadow grabbed for it, shouting:

"CHAOS CONTROL!" And he disappeared. By now, the others were awakening.

"Where's the emerald?" Sonic asked wearily.

"Shadow got it," Ash replied sadly.

"No he didn't," Tails noted. "There it is, at your feet." He dug it out.

"What?" Ash was confused. "Then what did he take?"

"Forget about that," Amy noted. "Where's Pikachu?"

"Pikachu?" Ash repeated, confused. "He's right here, isn't –" His eyes widened in shock when he saw his eternal companion was no longer there. "Pikachu?" he called. "Pikachu! Are you there?" There was no response.

"Oh, no," Knuckled breathed.

"Shadow," Sonic whispered, "the Hedgehog. It can't be."

Ash clenched his fists in rage, and screamed at the sky:

"SHADOWWWWWWWWWWWW!"


	9. Chapter 8: Now You've Done It

Chapter 8: Now You've Done It

"I should've known you wouldn't pull through," Eggman grumbled at Team Rocket as they warmed themselves. "I guess it's a good thing Shadow went, too. I know I can count on him!"

"My new job still feels a lot like my old one," James sighed.

"Oh, zip it!" Meowth snapped. "It's not like we were going to get lucky in any way."

"We're Team Rocket," Jessie huffed. "We always get unlucky." They were really cold thanks to flying through space towards the ARK. Only Eggman's intervention saved them from an untimely demise. Now they had their bare feet in pots of boiling water, huddled up in blankets, and shivering.

"Ah, don't take it like that," Eggman shrugged. "Just hurry up and finish warming up. I'm expecting Shadow back any moment, now." As if on cue, a burst of light appeared next to them, and the black hedgehog stepped out of it, something yellow in his hands. "Perfect!" the evil doctor smiled. "Come on, bring it right – whathe?!"

"Huh?" Team Rocket looked up, confused.

Shadow looked at his hands and was shocked. He didn't have a Chaos Emerald.

He had Pikachu!

"Shadow!?" Eggman cried. "What is the meaning of this?!"

"_Pika?_" Pikachu woke up, confused. He'd been knocked out by the light blast, but where was he now? Where was Ash?

"I thought I had the emerald," he growled. "Stupid rodent!" He threw Pikachu at the feet of Team Rocket. They looked elated.

"How do you like that?" James smiled.

"We finally got Pikachu!" Meowth cheered.

"Don't worry about this, Doc," Jessie assured him, eyeing Pikachu greedily. "We've been after this one for a longggggg time."

They laughed wickedly as they scooped the screaming Pokemon up and stuffed him into a cage that stifled all his power. Pikachu just kept screaming what sounded like his name, but if the people in that room could understand what he was really saying, they would hear:

_Help me! Somebody! Anybody! Ash! Ash, where are you? Hello? Anybody? ASH!_

* * *

The heroes looked up at Mt. Moon from its base, determination flowing through their veins.

"There it is," Knuckles nodded. "I guess I took a wrong turn somewhere."

"It's no problem," Sonic smiled. "At least we're here now."

"Let's go," Tails nodded. "The ARK is waiting."

They ascended the mountain quickly and stole into the base, knocking out all the security. Soon, they stole into a rocket and were off to the sky and ready to take down the ARK.

There were only twelve hours left before the ARK would fire.

"Huh?" Knuckles started suddenly as something caught his eye: an asteroid, or what looked like one, had something glimmering on it. Knuckles gasped. "Turn this ship around!"

"Huh?!" Sonic jerked. "No! We've gotta get to the ARK!"

"But the Master Emerald, it – okay, that does it: excuse me, I wanna drive!"

"ACK!" Tails shrieked as Knuckles pushed him.

"Stop that!" Amy shouted angrily.

"What's going on here?!" Ash yelled.

The chaos continued until the rocket crashed into the ARK, sending them scattering.

Sonic, Tails, and Amy managed to land together. "Darn that Knucklehead!" Sonic cursed. "Always messing things up!"

"You'd think he'd learn a thing or two by now," Tails muttered. "Oh, well."

"Where is he now?" Sonic wondered irritably. "Gone again. Great."

"Never mind him," Tails assured him. "Let's go."

"Hold it," Amy interjected. "Where's Ash?"

"I'm sure he's fine," Sonic assured her. "Tails, go in and destroy the engine of the Eclipse Cannon. That should be enough to shut this sucker down long enough to get the Chaos Emeralds. I'll hang tight in a hiding space. Amy, stay outta trouble."

"All right," she sighed.

* * *

Ash looked around himself, getting his bearings. He was in a small hangar. "Well, I guess that's that," he shrugged, whipping out a Pokeball. "If something goes wrong, I've at least got some help. Hang tight, Heracross. It's gonna be a bumpy ride."

* * *

Tails blew through the security leading to the engine powering the cannon no problem and knocked it out of commission. He then contacted Sonic via walkie-talkie:

"Okay, Sonic. I've knocked it out. It's on you, now. Get the Chaos Emeralds and –"

Sonic, who was still in his starting position, suddenly heard Tails get cut off by static. "Huh? Tails, what was that? I didn't quite get –"

"Forget about it, you little pest!" came a familiar voice. _Eggman!_ "Your orders have changed: bring the Chaos Emerald to me."

"No, Sonic!" Tails voice could be heard.

"And just so you don't get too worked up," Eggman said again.

"Sonic!"

Sonic gasped. That was Amy!

"If you want your precious girlfriend to live, get over here!"

Sonic huffed angrily. "You better not hurt her, Eggman." With that, he dashed off.

In the heat of that moment, they'd forgotten that Ash could also hear what was going on. He clenched his fist angrily. Eggman had already hurt his precious...er...friend. He didn't want any of his other friends suffering like she had.

"I won't let her die in vain," he growled under his breath.

* * *

Knuckles discovered that the "asteroid" that had the Master Emerald was actually a large Egg Sentry guarding the ARK. The sentry captured him and stuck him inside a cage, but it was weak, so he busted out of it with ease. He snatched the emerald from the center pedestal and bolted, but he was lifted up again by a claw attached to another sentry.

"No!" he cried as another claw snatched the emerald.

"Fwahaha! Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

"OH, SHUT UP!" Knuckles shouted as he punched his way free and leapt at the Master Emerald, but it moved out of the way.

"Don't think it'll be that easy," Meowth shouted right back at him, "especially since you interrupted the motto!"

"I'm so sick of that stupid poem, it's life-threatening!" Knuckles retorted. "And you're not getting away with that emerald!"

"Oh, we'll see about that!" Jessie sneered, pulling the emerald into the small ship where it was supposedly safe. Knuckles punched at it, easily tearing it apart, and yanked the emerald out, but he lost his footing and, being in outer space, had no way to control himself. The claws of the sentry extended out again and snatched the emerald back. Knuckles swam at them and managed to punch them down, snatching the emerald back and finding himself falling to a small panel that allowed him to regain his footing.

"There," he sighed in relief, shining the emerald slightly. "Now just to get you somewhere safe." A sudden thump caused him to whirl around: another sentry, no, three! Each of the three members were piloting one.

"I told you it wouldn't be easy!" Meowth snapped. "Get ready to rumble! That emerald's ours!"

"You wanna bet?!" Knuckles snapped back. "It won't end like that!"

"Very well," James sneered. "If that's the way it will be…"

"Then we will take it from you!" they all shouted simultaneously.

Three claws shot out simultaneously from each mini-sentry in an attempt to snatch the emerald, but the lack of coordination gave Knuckles an advantage as he backflipped with the emerald to prevent them from snatching it. Their claws got tangled up, and they were forced to work out getting them untangled without destroying them. After a minute or two, they succeeded, but not before Knuckles managed to think through a strategy (yeah, I know: not like him at all). They reached again, keeping their respective claws at a distance from each other so they wouldn't get tangled again, but they were too careful and got nowhere. Jessie gritted her teeth.

"We need to work this out," she growled. "James, Meowth, fake him out. I'll get the emerald."

"Why you?" James asked.

"Because I know what I'm doing."

The other two groaned but complied, reaching and distracting Knuckles while Jessie used her claw to snatch the emerald. Knuckles retaliated quickly, punching the claw out of commission. The pieces were knocked into the other claws which, because they were poorly built, fell apart as a result. The sentries were useless, so they jumped out and landed in front of Knuckles.

"Enough is enough!" Jessie almost screamed angrily. "Hand over the emerald now!"

"Or what?" Knuckles growled. "I swore on my life to guard this emerald and I will not let three imbeciles take it!"

"We've heard all that before," James rolled his eyes, "and then some."

"So cut the yabber and fork it over," Meowth added.

"The reason you've heard that so often is because it's what's right," Knuckles growled.

"Team Rocket doesn't care about what's right!" Jessie snapped. "We have goals, and one day the world will realize them."

"And what about the ARK?" Knuckles shot back. "Will _it_ realize them?"

"I've heard enough!" Meowth shouted. "This epic banter is getting us nowhere. Let's just –"

Just then, a small asteroid slammed into their ground, knocking Team Rocket towards the sky. They quickly clutched each other in desperation.

"Oh, no!" James cried. "We're toast, now!"

"Nothing to show for, here!" Meowth screamed.

Then they stopped suddenly and felt themselves getting pulled back down before they could fly too far away. They hit the ground again.

"Thanks for the bruises," Jessie grumbled, dusting herself off.

"I think I coughed something up," James muttered.

"That was me, ya dweeb," Meowth sighed.

"You're welcome," Knuckles grumbled sarcastically.

"Don't mention it," Jessie muttered as they turned and walked away.

Knuckles was confused. "Wait, what? You're just –"

"Don't push your luck, twerp," Meowth turned back to him a moment. "Keep your emerald. We'll find something else to push us to the top."

Knuckles watched as they boarded their little ship, then he snapped out of his trance and jumped on. They would take him back to the ARK, which is just what he wanted.

* * *

Eggman sat in his pod walker, waiting eagerly for Sonic's arrival. Amy stood behind him, her hands over her mouth in fear. Tails was there, too, under custody of threat: one move, and Amy was gone.

"It's not going to end the way you want it to, Eggman," Tails growled angrily, feeling powerless.

"Oh, we'll see about that," he sneered.

"He's going to stop you," Amy interjected. "I know he will."

"_Pi Pikachu!_" came Pikachu's voice from behind her.

"What makes you say that?" Eggman turned towards her leeringly.

"Because he always has," she replied. "And he always will."

"Save your breath, Amy," came the familiar voice of the blue hedgehog. They turned and saw him walk in, a frown on his face. "I'll take this Egghead down the old-fashioned way."

"Did you hear nothing of what I said before, Sonic?!" Eggman snapped. "Hand over the Chaos Emerald, or she's dead! And don't try anything; I _know_ you have it."

Sonic heaved a sigh and shrugged. "All right, Eggman. What do you want me to do?"

"Just put the emerald down right there," Eggman indicated a circular area in the middle of the room. "Put it down there like a good boy."

Sonic started for the area, but then he stopped. "First let Amy go."

Eggman shook his head. "If I did that, then fox-boy would hurt someone. Put down the emerald, and I'll let her go."

Sonic cursed inwardly. _I guess I've got no choice but to take his word. And we all know what that means._ He slowly walked towards the center of the room, emerald in hand. Eggman looked at this, a wicked smile slowly growing on his face. When Sonic reached the center, he slowly put down the emerald, releasing it from his grip.

"Got you now, Sonic!" Eggman suddenly shouted, pressing a button. What happened next was a blur to the blue blur, as a sudden hissing sound screamed from above, a weight bigger than himself shoved him out of the circle, accompanied by a _NO!_, and he skidded across the room, face-down on the ground. When he leapt back up, he saw a large glass cylinder over the place where he had placed the emerald, and inside the cylinder…

Sonic gulped. "_Ash?!_"

Sure enough, the Pokemon trainer himself was trapped inside with the Chaos Emerald. Eggman chortled. "Did you really think I would be foolish enough to take that fake emerald?"

Tails looked at him, confused. "What?! How did you know the emerald was a fake?"

"Because you just told me, fox-boy!" Eggman roared with laughter.

Sonic facepalmed. "Tails!"

"Whoops," Tails shrugged.

"_Pikapi!_" Pikachu screamed from behind Amy.

"Pikachu!" Ash cried, looking at his eternal companion from within his prison. "I'm glad at least you're okay."

"Well, you won't be!" Eggman sneered. "I'd hoped to destroy Sonic once and for all, but considering how much of a nuisance you've been to my plans, I think I'll blow you to smithereens instead!" His hand hovered over a button.

Ash closed his eyes, knowing full well what was about to happen. "Sonic," he called. "Tails. You guys gotta take Pikachu back home for me. Can you do that?"

Sonic and Tails were in too much shock to respond.

"Guys! Please! Take him home for me!"

Sonic stuttered, "O-okay, Ash. We-we can do that."

"Thanks guys." With that, Eggman slammed the button and sent Ash's prison through the floor. Amy, Sonic, and Tails looked out the window in horror as the cylindrical death-trap soared out into space, flailing. Then, with a burst of flames, it exploded.

"ASH!" Sonic cried.

"I can't believe it," Amy whimpered, tears brimming her eyes.

"He saved you, Sonic," Tails whispered. The two eternal friends turned back to Eggman, fury lining their faces.

"Now you've done it," Sonic growled.


	10. Chapter 9: Shock for Shock

Chapter 9: Shock for Shock

"You monster!" Sonic screamed, charging at Eggman in a fit of rage. Eggman easily repelled him, as his mind was clear for thinking.

"You killed him!" Tails shouted. "I'll never forgive you for this!"

"_Pika pikachu!_" Pikachu tried to break out, but he could do nothing. What Tails said went double for him.

"You're no match for me, you little brat!" Eggman sneered, blasting him with a small laser.

"Amy!" Sonic called to her. "Go find somewhere safe to hide yourself. Tails and I have a score to settle with this mustachioed maniac."

"Okay!" Amy nodded, rushing out. He turned back to Eggman and curled into a ball, slamming into the evil doctor and knocking him over. The doctor leapt back up and punched him away with his machine. Sonic was on his feet in a moment.

"You're a coward, you know that?" he shouted. "You could have easily punched me with your own fist!"

"That's irrelevant!" Eggman snapped, letting a missile fire at Tails. The smart fox dodged it and fired his own missile at him, but it also missed. Eggman shot at him with bullets, which he dodged, and Sonic attacked him from behind. He turned and attacked him next, while Tails attacked him. This two-pronged strategy worked well until Eggman caught on and let them attack him at the same time, then dodged so that they hit each other instead. They were fazed by that, but they quickly gathered themselves.

"Where'd Eggman go?" Tails wondered aloud. His question was violently answered when a massive weight fell on top of them both, slamming them into the ground. Then two balls flew at them and wrapped around them, tying them up back to back. Tails was squeezed and, like a lemon losing its juice, lost the emerald as it fell to the ground.

"Nice try, you little pests," Eggman snarled. "But I'm afraid this is the end of you!"

* * *

Team Rocket had made it back on board; they were in the core of the ARK now, greedily eyeing the emeralds that powered the Eclipse Cannon.

"I guess we should've known better than to make that twerp angry," James sighed.

"No kidding," Meowth seconded that.

"Well, now that we've learned our lesson, let's get ourselves another prize," Jessie smirked.

"Right," Meowth smiled. "So we make off with the emeralds before anyone knows what's happened?"

"That's rather genius," James smirked. "Even I couldn't come up with such a brilliant plan on my own."

"Hold it right there!"

They turned in fright on hearing the sudden voice. Shadow stood right in front of them, hands balled into fists, ready for a fight. "Trying to steal the Chaos Emeralds, are we?"

"Uh, no," Jessie stammered. "We just wanted to make sure the twerps didn't –"

"Don't cover up," he snarled. "I heard everything. You were planning to steal the emeralds all along!"

"No, no!" James put out his hands. "Honest to Arceus, we weren't planning to steal the emeralds! Well, not at first, that is."

"We originally joined up with you guys because we wanted that one big emerald!" Meowth explained. "But we gave up on that just hours ago, so we figured we'd make off with the rest of the emeralds."

Shadow leered down at the scratch Pokemon angrily. "I knew you three weren't really on our side. You were double-teaming for Team Rocket all along!"

"Oh, _there's_ a big surprise!" Meowth retorted. "That's incredible! Why, I think I'm going to have a heart attack and DIE from that surprise!"

Shadow slammed a fist into Meowth's face, knocking him flat on his back. "I don't have the patience or time to deal with you three, but know this: I see no good reason not to kill you three off. If you value your lives, leave the emeralds where they are. Is that clear?!"

"Why should we listen to you?!" Jessie snapped.

Shadow looked at her, fury blazing in his eyes. "You know full well why: because I am the ultimate life form. All other life is inferior to me!"

"Oh, is that so?" James sneered, whipping out some paperwork. "Then how do you explain this? Professor Gerald Robotnik created an ultimate lifeform fifty years ago and documented it here. There's even a picture!" He flashed it before the startled hedgehog's eyes, and Shadow didn't see his reflection. "Are you really the ultimate life form that we must bow down to?"

"You're nothing but a fraud!" Meowth snapped.

"Fraud or not, he's still strong," Jessie admonished them.

Shadow just turned away, hiding his surprise. "I don't have time to ponder your silliness," he muttered. "It doesn't matter. Only one thing matters: my promise to Maria. I will fulfill it, and _you_ will be the first to witness its completion." With that, he disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

"As much as I had hoped to erase all evidence of your existence from this universe, I'm afraid I'll have to work this out a little more," Eggman sneered. "Your dead body will be quite the plague to outer space, but that doesn't matter. As long as nobody else knows where you are, they can't prove I killed you!"

"Yes they can," Tails growled. "Everyone knows who you are, Eggman. They won't buy into some cheap story about you not killing us."

"Fool! People are stupid. They'll believe anything with the right amount of convincing, something which I have in abundance."

Unseen by Eggman, Pikachu was listening to everything that was going on. He couldn't figure out how to get out of his confinement, nor could he figure out what was going to happen to them when all this was over. What he _could_ figure out, though, was that Eggman had killed one of his best friend's best friends, and then he had killed _his_ best friend! And now, as if that weren't enough, he was trying to kill his new friends! He had had more than enough of this. With a rage that even he didn't understand, he channeled his electric power through the cage that held him, the sound muffled by the glass, until it burst in an ear-shattering scream.

Eggman turned in shock. "What was that?!" he screamed, but he faltered when he saw Pikachu standing on all fours, fur bristling, face frowning, and small jolts sparking from his cheeks.

"_PIIIIIIKAAAAAAAAAAA...CHUUUUUUUUUUUUU!_"

He unleashed a Thunder attack on the unsuspecting doctor, completely destroying his machine and frying him. For a moment, there was silence as the smoldering heaps of the pod walker sat there. Then a foot stepped out, followed by the rest of Eggman's body. He looked down at Pikachu, completely shocked and angry.

"Time to stop breathing, little rat," he growled, slamming his foot onto Pikachu's back. Pikachu had the air knocked out of him so suddenly that he couldn't retaliate in time, and he started to suffocate.

"NO!" Sonic and Tails cried simultaneously. Desperate, Sonic used his foot to try to get the Chaos Emerald into his grip but it was no use. "Urgh! Come on!" he growled under his breath.

Suddenly, he disappeared, then reappeared right behind Eggman, free from the bonds that still held Tails, and slammed him over the head with his fists. Eggman fell in a heap, completely unconscious. Pikachu gulped in the welcome air while Sonic freed Tails.

"Did we do it?" Tails asked uncertainly.

Sonic sighed. "I think so, Tails." He looked out the window, his emotions a mix of puzzlement and sadness.

"What happened back there?" his best friend asked him, equally puzzled.

"I don't know," he admitted. "Somehow I think the Chaos Emerald had something to do with it."

"Do...do you think…?" Tails asked.

Sonic nodded. "Yeah. I think I used Chaos Control…"

* * *

"Okay," Knuckles muttered to himself as he stole through the corridors of the ARK, dragging the emerald behind him. "Let's get the rest of the emeralds and go home, Sonic." He came across a door with a control panel next to it. "Hm...is this the way?" He punched the panel, and the door shot open. To his disappointment, the room was empty, save for one sole occupant wrapped in a blanket. He raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"Hm?" the voice of the figure came, clearly feminine. "Knuckles! Finally, someone came to save me."

"Oh...uh…" Knuckles shrugged. "No, I didn't, but –"

She didn't hear him, as she was too busy leaving her blanket behind and rushing out, hugging him. "Thank you."

Knuckles didn't return it, but he shrugged. "Okay, come on. Let's keep looking for Sonic." They kept moving through the corridors. "Er, refresh my memory as to what your name is again."

"May," she replied.

"Somehow I knew it started with an 'M,'" he muttered to himself. "Oh well. Hopefully Sonic and company didn't get bested by Eggman."

"Oh, don't worry," May smiled. "I know they didn't."

Knuckles looked at her, puzzled. "What makes you say that?"

"Because they're the good guys," she replied. "And the good guys always win."

Knuckles shrugged it off. _If only it were so simple…_ His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden glow blinding them, forcing them to stop. After a few seconds, it disappeared, and they were shocked by what lay at their feet.

May gulped. "Ash?!"

The boy grunted and slowly stood up, confused. When he saw May, he felt his face drop. "It failed, didn't it?" he sighed sadly. "I should've known it wouldn't work. I guess it was still worth a shot."

May was confused. "Ash, what are you talking about?"

He looked at her. "I tried to save myself, but it was a long shot. I just hope Sonic and Tails get out of that in one piece. For me, I may as well get used to the afterlife."

"What?!" May exclaimed. "Ash, don't be ridiculous! You're not dead!"

"Looks like he finally lost it," Knuckles chuckled (I really didn't mean for that to rhyme).

"What do you mean?" Ash asked, even more confused. "I saw what happened to New Island. There's no way you could have survived that." He looked down at his hand. "So how do our new bodies work? Seems a lot like our old ones…"

"Ash, cut it out!" May snapped, somewhat irritated. "You're not dead, and neither am I! I was rescued by that black hedgehog, and he brought me up here."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "Where's here?"

"The ARK, stupid!"

Ash blinked. Was this real? He slowly reached a hand out to May's arm and slowly, gently, and densely caressed it. It was as soft as he remembered it being.

"Y-you," he breathed, unable to finish his statement. "You're _alive?_"

"Yes, Ash," she smiled. "I'm alive."

His lower lip quivered a moment as this unbelievable truth sunk in. Then he shocked himself – and May – by throwing his arms around her and holding her close. May caught her breath, stunned by her usually dense friend's sudden behavior, but she breathed easy again when she returned the embrace. They stood there for a quarter of a minute, holding onto each other, letting the warmth their bodies gave off soothe their fears and remind them that everything was going to be okay.

"I can't believe it," Ash whispered, a small tear leaking from his eye. "I thought I'd lost you, May."

"It's okay, Ash," she whispered back. "Everything's going to be okay."

Knuckles just stood there, an eyebrow raised. "Ooooookay," he muttered. "This is getting a little awkward."

They parted on hearing this and looked back at him. Ash wiped his eye. "Aw, great," he joked. "I'm leaking."

"What now?" Knuckles asked, forgetting for a moment that they were looking for Sonic.

"We were looking for the others," May reminded him.

"You do that," Ash affirmed them, turning to go his own way.

"Where are you going?" May asked.

"I'm going to stop Eggman," Ash replied. "This is a fake emerald that will knock the cannon out of commission. How much time do we have left?"

"Thirty minutes," Knuckles replied.

"What?!" Ash cried. "But when I got out of that situation, we had two hours!"

May shrugged. "Well, now we know why you look so young after all these years."

"Never mind," he muttered. "May, stay out of trouble. I don't want to lose you again."

"You won't, Ash," she assured him with a smile. "Now, let's go stop Eggman!"

He nodded and looked down at his emerald. "Okay," he muttered to himself. "Let's see if this works again." He closed his eyes, breathed in, and cried:

"Chaos...CONTROL!"

Then he vanished in a flash of light.


	11. Chapter 10: The Shadow of the Ashes

Chapter 10: The Shadow of the Ashes

"How much farther to the core?" Ash wondered aloud. He'd stashed the emerald in his pocket, not wanting to abuse his newfound power. "I don't have all the time in the world, here. Hopefully I can move fast enough."

As he continued stealing through the corridors, he noticed slight rage flow through his veins as he thought of what would happen if he failed now. The world as they knew it would be destroyed, and they would all perish. _Not on my watch_ he thought. _I'll kill Eggman before he can lay one –_ He stopped, shocked. _Wait a minute...where did that come from?! I'm not a mercenary. I'm a Pokemon trainer. Killing's not my way. Why –?_

He shrugged and continued on his way until he finally found his way to a conveyor belt that led to the core. Seeing no other way to reach his destination, he stepped onto the one that was heading that way.

"Now here's a surprise," came a familiarly detestable voice. "I was expecting that faker Sonic to be down here. I thought that capsule the doctor threw you out in was destroyed."

Ash turned and saw Sonic's evil look-alike staring at him. He jumped onto the other conveyor belt before his small beam of power could incinerate him. "What can I say?" he shrugged as he started walking against the flow. "I die hard!"

"But how did you do it?" Shadow asked, genuinely perplexed. He eyed the emerald in his pocket. "There's no way you, a mere human, could've used a fake emerald to warp."

"I didn't think so at first either," Ash put a hand behind his head. "But I didn't see any other way, so I took a gamble. Looks like it paid off."

"You are extraordinary," Shadow breathed in amazement. "But it makes no matter. You are still an inferior life form, and so you will pay for defiling the emerald's power."

"Defiling?" Ash repeated, puzzled. "How did I defile its power?"

"You and I both know full well how you did it," Shadow growled menacingly. "Humans are monsters. They care for nothing but themselves. They destroy each other to obtain what they want." He smirked slightly. "I was created to bring justice to you humans, and in a matter of twenty minutes, you shall witness the fulfillment of my purpose."

"That's a filthy lie!" Ash retorted angrily, all his rage finally boiling up inside him. "Humans aren't like that; some are, but not all."

"Don't lie to me," the black hedgehog snarled, "and to yourself. You know full well that you are a corrupted creature. Exactly what makes you think you're any different?"

"I've seen things you haven't. I've witnessed the goodness of humanity _and_ the corruption. There's so much good in this world, and it can never be subject to the bad."

"You're wrong," Shadow snapped, his patience fading.

"What, and you're right?" Ash retorted. "If you could hear yourself, you would realize that you were becoming the very thing that you _hate!_"

"DON'T TELL ME WHAT'S RIGHT!" Shadow roared, unleashing a streak of energy that barely missed Ash. They stared each other down, hatred lining their eyes. "Who do you, a mere human, think you are to tell me what's right?" he growled, menace permeating his voice.

"I'm just a Pokemon trainer looking to become the world's greatest Pokemon Master," he replied, a smile appearing on his face as he pulled out his Pokeball. "I am Ash Ketchum!"

Shadow shook his head. "Such a shame I have to destroy you," he sighed. "But it makes no matter. Your time is up. Prepare to die!"

Ash didn't waste another moment. He chucked his ball and it opened, releasing energy that materialized into a bug Pokemon that was ready to fight. "All right, Heracross, let's show this monster just what we're made of!"

"_Heracross!_" Heracross cheered, rushing forward with a Megahorn attack. Shadow let it charge him and, right before it hit him, used Chaos Control to avoid its rage. Heracross managed to stop himself and looked around, confused. Ash looked around, wondering where the black hedgehog had gone to, and was met with a swift kick in the back that threw him onto his face. On seeing Shadow assault his master, Heracross charged him again, this time scoring a direct hit. Shadow fell onto his back and leapt back up, charging at Heracross, but the bug Pokemon dodged before he could hurt it. Shadow stopped, then his face met Ash's fist when the Pokemon trainer, who had gotten up by now, punched him backwards a few feet. Shadow charged at him again, but Ash disappeared right before he hit.

"Still defiling the power of the Chaos Emerald, are you?" Shadow taunted. "It's bad enough that someone made a fake. Now a human is using that fake to manipulate the Chaos."

"Shut up!" Ash shouted, kicking him from behind. Shadow fell, then disappeared once again, this time re-appearing next to Heracross, his karate-styled hand ready by the distracted Pokemon's neck. "No! Heracross!" the trainer screamed, rushing to save his Pokemon.

Shadow chuckled. _Just what I wanted._ He disappeared as Ash came up to him, then tackled him to the ground. "You're weak, human!" Shadow snarled, his hand on his throat.

"No!" Ash spat angrily. "I just know what's really important!" He slammed his fist into Shadow's face once again, this time knocking him back a greater distance. The black hedgehog still had yet to be fazed and leapt up with as much fire as before, charging him once again. Ash disappeared just before he could hit, but Shadow had expected this and whirled around, expecting him to appear next to his Pokemon. But nothing happened.

"Where are you?" Shadow called tauntingly. "Did you chicken out like the human that you are? I told you you were pathetic."

Ash bit his tongue. _It's a trick_ he thought. _He wants me to lose my head. I've got to control myself._

"Even _you_ can't fool me," Shadow sneered. "I know you don't give a care for that Pokemon. You would let it die in the street if it meant saving your hide."

Ash squeezed his eyes shut, trying hard to restrain his fist which begged to punch this creature in the face. _It's a lie! It's all a lie! I'm not like that!_ He had confidence in this truth, but could he spit it back out through his mouth, or would his fists do the talking?

"You couldn't save your friends," Shadow chuckled, his voice growing ever more malicious. "Sonic and his friends will die at the doctor's hands."

_No they won't_ Ash thought, loosening up a bit.

"And what about that young lady in the prison cell?"

Ash's eyes flared open. _Oh no, you did not…_

"Poor girl...waiting for her precious Ash to save her. What tears will be shed when she realizes that he died in the core of the ARK?"

_Shut up shut up shut up!_

"Or maybe she won't weep." His eyes narrowed in pure malice. "Maybe, just maybe, _you_ will. If you will not perish, then _she_ will."

"NOOOOO!" Ash screamed, leaping out onto the black hedgehog. He tackled the evil creature to the ground and started rolling around, trying to grasp the little monster's throat. Shadow fought back with vigor, but even he had tapped into too much of Ash's rage to stand a chance. Ash soon grasped his throat, rage boiling in his eyes as he squeezed. Shadow began to struggle.

"Go ahead," he choked. "Kill me. It's like I said all along. You're nothing but a pathetic, cowardly, human who cares for nothing but himself." _And now I have proof_ he thought as he closed his eyes.

But Shadow was wrong, for his words triggered something in Ash's heart that caused him to start thinking again. Was Shadow right? Was he really like that? Were _all_ humans like that?

_No_ he thought. _It's not true. I know it's not true._ He smiled inwardly as he thought. _And I can prove it._

With that, he took a deep breath, and released his grip on Shadow's throat. Shadow opened his eyes, puzzled. "I...I don't understand."

"You're wrong," Ash told him one more time, recalling Heracross and disappearing. Shadow was left there alone, confused.

"He had me," he muttered to himself, completely baffled. "He was going to kill me, I could tell. It was his intention." He breathed. "Why did he let me go? Am I not his enemy? Enemies kill each other, don't they? Why...did he…?"

All the confusion he had bottled up inside since the doctor had released him finally made its way into his brain: confusion about life, purpose, suffering...what did it all mean?

"He used Chaos Control," he whispered, still confused about that fact. "But how? Humans can't use the power of Chaos. How could he?" He nodded, genuinely impressed. "This truly is an extraordinary human."

He shook himself, maintaining his presence once again. "But it doesn't matter. I have a promise that I intend to fulfill." Suddenly, the ARK shook, nearly knocking the black hedgehog into the pit beneath him. He regained his balance, smiling.

"The time has come."


	12. Chapter 11: The Battle's End

Chapter 11: The Battle's End

Tails and Sonic looked out the window, sighing. Amy was sitting behind them, head hung down, Pikachu right beside her. They'd lost track of time in their grief, but Sonic and Tails, finally coming to grips with their loss, turned around. Sonic pulled out a walkie-talkie and looked at it somberly.

"We did it, Ash," he whispered. "Thank you...for everything." With that he dropped the walkie-talkie to the ground and started out, his friends slowly following.

That was when they heard a sudden beeping coming from that walkie-talkie. Perking slightly, they rushed back over to it, curious.

"Awesome job, guys!" came a familiarly gravelly voice that even the static couldn't prevent them from recognizing.

They couldn't believe their ears. "ASH!" Tails cried. Amy looked up in shock, as did Pikachu.

"Look outside!" came the voice again. They did so and watched as the Eclipse Cannon opened up, preparing to fire. Suddenly, an explosion rocked the cannon, stopped the blast, and caused it to shut down.

In their excitement, none of the Sonic heroes noticed Eggman's formerly limp form struggle to its feet and grab the Chaos Emerald from Tails' machine.

From a corridor in the ARK, Knuckles and May witnessed the same spectacle as Eggman's plans were foiled once again. As she watched, May noticed a peculiar shimmer come from the base of the cannon. She pulled out some binoculars and smiled ear to ear at what she saw:

Ash was standing there, smiling, holding up half of a ribbon. She held a hand to her heart as she let the binoculars down and pulled the other half of that ribbon out of her pocket, letting its shine reflect off of Ash's half.

Even though Ash couldn't see it with his own set of binoculars, he could tell from the shimmer from above that May was holding up her half. _We're going to be okay_ he thought. _Yes...we're going to be okay._

* * *

**So is that the end? They stopped Eggman, right? It looks like an epic ending, doesn't it?**

**Yeah, right. All of you who have played the game know full well that this isn't the end, and even if you haven't played the game (I pity you), you could tell just by reading this that it's not over. Why is Shadow still insistent that his promise will be fulfilled? And remember: Eggman has the last Chaos Emerald! Will the ARK fire after all?**

**The fate of the world is still hanging in the balance, it seems. But for but a brief moment, our heroes seem content to celebrate their victory, even if their "victory" is nothing but a setback to Eggman's plans.**


	13. Chapter 12: Reawakening

Chapter 12: Reawakening

Eggman briskly walked up to the final niche on the Eclipse Cannon, the last Chaos Emerald in hand. His excitement grew with each step as he realized what was about to happen:

He was about to accomplish his goal.

"Finally," he sneered. "Those insolent pests will witness the full extent of this baby's power...and the world will be mine!" With that, he slammed the emerald into the niche. The other six, sensing their brother's presence, began glowing. The machine started humming as the Eclipse Cannon prepared to fire. Eggman chortled maniacally as his plan slowly but surely pushed its way to fruition.

Then suddenly, it all stopped. He looked up sharply, confused. "What? Hm...must've been a technical glitch of some sorts. I guess I can understand that, considering this piece of junk is fifty years old." He looked around for the problem, but, to his surprise, nothing was out of place. "Odd," he muttered. "Oh! I know." He pressed the "Fire" button.

To his chagrin, that only made things worse. "Grrr! What is the meaning of this? Why doesn't the cannon fire?!" A sudden lurch knocked him off his feet and onto his back. He leapt back up and was shocked by what he saw:

A screen had appeared, a face familiar to the doctor on it. It looked like an older version of Dr. Eggman, only his mustache was gray, and rather than a red blazer he wore a scientist's white lab coat.

Eggman gasped. "It's my grandfather…"

* * *

"WHOA!" Sonic and his friends cried as the ARK suddenly lurched. They were still in the room where they had defeated Eggman. Knuckles and May had joined them, and Ash was on his way.

"What in the world was that?!" Amy cried.

"Guys," Tails called worriedly, "you might want to see this." They all looked out the window, horror overtaking them at the sight of the world below's slowly growing bigger.

"We're falling down!" May squealed.

At that point, the view was replaced by an image of someone who looked like Eggman, only older.

"Who's that?" Knuckles wondered.

"It's not Eggman," Sonic shrugged.

"Sh! He's saying something!" Tails hissed. They listened to what the image said, as did everyone else down on the world below them:

"_This is a death sentence for every human being on the world below. If my calculations are correct, the Space Colony ARK will impact this world in twenty-seven minutes and fifty-three seconds. All of you will be destroyed, along with your beloved home world._

"_I plan to give you a taste of my revenge once all the seven Chaos Emeralds are collected. Once I initiate this program, it cannot be disabled. All of you ungrateful humans who took everything away from me will feel my loss and despair!_"

There was silence for a moment. Then another voice said:

"_Is there anything else you want to say?_"

"_No._"

"_Ready!_"

From there on, the recording started to loop. Sonic was drawn back to the present moment by the buzzing of his walkie-talkie. "Sonic!" came a gravelly voice. "Are you seeing this?!"

Sonic sent a reply: "Yeah! You?"

"You bet! Sounds grim!"

"It was a trap!" came a familiarly detestable voice. Everyone turned and saw Eggman walking in, followed by Team Rocket.

"You!" Knuckles shouted. "This was you, wasn't it?!" He charged at them.

"No!" Jessie cried. "Don't! We didn't do it!"

"Then who did?" Tails growled.

Eggman gestured to the man on the screen. "_He_ did."

"Right," Sonic nodded skeptically. "And who, may I ask, is _he_?"

"That's my grandfather," Eggman replied. "Professor Gerald Robotnik, one of the greatest minds of the century."

"You can say that again," Amy muttered sarcastically.

"It was he who created this space colony. He said it was created for the good of humanity." He shuddered. "But what's going on now is anything _but_ good for humanity."

"You're one to talk," Knuckles growled.

"That's not the point, Knuckles!" Eggman snapped.

"Yeah, actually, I think it is!" the red echidna yelled, charging at Eggman. Eggman braced himself for the impact, but Knuckles' namesake never connected with his face. Instead, a weight slammed into him and tackled him to the ground, stopping his attempt at assault.

"Ash!?" Sonic cried.

"Sorry," Ash grunted, getting to his feet. "But for once I have to agree: Eggman's right. I don't know what's going on here, but we don't have time to fight about it. It needs to be stopped."

"Did you hear nothing?" May asked as Pikachu returned to his best friend's shoulder. "That lunatic said it can't be stopped!"

"Hey!" Eggman shouted in protest. "Don't insult my grandfather like that!"

"It runs in the family," Tails shrugged.

"Oh, I heard what he said, all right," Ash assured her. "But that doesn't mean in the slightest that I believe it. There's always a way. I say we go get the emeralds and prevent them from powering the ARK."

"That's impossible," Meowth interjected. "We already tried; they're locked in tight."

"And with the emeralds' power surging through the ARK," James threw in his penny, "the impact of the ARK will destroy the planet!"

"No," Tails breathed. "Ash is right. There's got to be a way."

"Well, we do have one more emerald," Jessie suggested, looking at Knuckles. "Does that mean anything?"

"Huh?" Knuckles raised an eyebrow, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Are you referring to that fake emerald?" Ash asked.

"No," Meowth pointed at Knuckles. "We're talking about the big green one."

Knuckles's eyes widened. "The Master Emerald! That's it! It has the power to give the Chaos Emeralds power and to take that power away!"

"So we can use it to stop the Chaos Emeralds?" May asked.

"Yes!" Sonic cheered.

"Excellent!" Eggman nodded. "All right. We've only got twenty-five minutes. Let's get to work!"

* * *

While the heroes and villains worked together to get to the core of the colony, May and Amy stayed in the room they'd met in, keeping tabs on the ARK's position and how close they were to the planet. It had been five minutes since they'd left, so they only had twenty minutes left.

"Gee," Amy grumbled, "it sure is boring around here. Why do the boys get to have all the fun?"

"Well, to be fair, I don't see _you_ getting your own video game any time soon," May joked. Amy was not amused.

"I just want to help, that's all!"

"Me, too." She sighed. "To be honest, I'd rather be down there helping Ash, but he told me to stay safe."

"Safe, ha! That's not going to matter in a moment if they can't stop the Chaos Emeralds."

"No, but considering he thought I died back at New Island, I don't blame him for worrying about my safety like that."

"Hmph," Amy muttered. "Here. I'll take the timer for a while. You can stretch your legs at least."

"All right," May sighed, getting up. "I'll be right back." She walked around through a corridor that was completely transparent so that she could see the stars surrounding her. "So beautiful," she smiled, putting a hand over her heart. "So romantic. Did that professor have a real appreciation for the beauties of nature?" Her smile turned neutral. "Who was he before he went mad?"

"A genius."

May started on hearing the sudden voice. Shadow stood in front of her, staring out the walls. "What are you doing here, Shadow?" He didn't answer. When she saw this, she pressed further, "You should be helping the others. They could really use your help."

Shadow glared softly at her. "What's the point?" he growled softly. "It's not going to matter in a few short minutes. You heard what the professor said: there's no way to stop this."

"But there is," May assured him. "We found a way. The Master Emerald will shut down the power of the Chaos Emeralds, and we can stop this madness."

"Shut up!" Shadow shouted, suddenly leering over her. "Nothing will stop this. Anything you can think of is futile. Give up now and say your goodbyes!"

May shrunk back a little. "I don't understand. Why are you so convinced that there's no hope?"

"Hmph," was all the black hedgehog said in reply. May's fearful expression suddenly turned into a frown when she realized something.

"You," she breathed in disbelief. "You wanted this to happen, didn't you?!"

Shadow turned back to her, a small smirk on his face. "Yes."

May couldn't believe her ears. "Why?" she whispered, a tear forming in her eye. "Why are you doing this?" Shadow turned away. "Why are you so evil? What can you gain from destroying everything?"

Shadow looked back at her, a cold stare in his eye. "I made a promise to Maria: to avenge her death. Everything I have done to this point has been aimed towards the fulfillment of that promise." He gestured out the window. "When the ARK hits the planet, my promise will be fulfilled."

"Maria," May whispered. "So that's what you said when you left me."

Shadow didn't answer that question, but he turned away. "Maria was killed when Team Rocket attacked the ARK in an effort to steal the professor's prized creations, including me. She died trying to help me escape." He fought hard against rising emotions as he remembered. "She was my best friend...my whole world. She was to me what you would call a big sister. Losing her was more than any of us could bear."

May looked at him, coming to a sad realization. "Is that how the professor lost his mind?"

Shadow glared at her. "If that's one way of putting it, yes," he spat sarcastically.

A tear trickled out of each of May's eyes as she felt compassion swell up in her for this detestable creature. "You…" she whispered, "you poor thing. You had so much happiness, didn't you? You had love. You were just like the rest of us, and the world took it away from you."

"Shut up!" Shadow shouted, slapping her face with the back of his hand. She held her hand to her cheek, wincing at the stinging pain. He looked at her doing this, and suddenly heard a voice in his head say his name. He started. _Maria?_

* * *

"_Please, Shadow," she whispered, leaning against the wall breathing hard._

"_Maria!" he cried from within the pod. "No, don't push that button! Don't leave me!"_

"_Shadow, there's no time!" she cried, holding her side. She winced. "If I don't do this, they'll get you, too."_

"_Maria, please don't go!" he cried. "I need you!"_

"_No," she whispered. "You just need to believe in yourself. I know the people who are pulling us apart are cruel and heartless, but most people aren't like that, I promise you."_

_He looked down, frightened. "No," he whispered, looking back up. "I promise _you!"

_She looked up, confused. "What do you mean?"_

"_If people really are like that, then they shouldn't have to suffer as we are suffering," he said. "If we can't be happy, we should make sure they don't have to endure our suffering. It isn't fair!"_

_She smiled, a tear trickling from her eye. "Thank you, Shadow." She reached for the button one last time as she started to collapse._

"_MARIA!' he cried as he fell into the black, while she fell to the ground, a light slowly coming towards her, whilst she called with her dying breath._

"_I will always be there for you. Sayonara, Shadow the Hedgehog."_

* * *

Shadow took a step back, shock filling his eyes. "That's what I promised her," he whispered. "I...I promised her that I…"

"Shadow?"

He looked up. May stood there, her hand still on her cheek. He blinked a moment, then closed his eyes as a single tear fell from one. He turned away slowly and started walking away from her.

"Wait! Where are you going?" she called.

"To do what I should've done all along," he replied, not looking back. "I've got to keep my promise to Maria, _and_ you!"

May was confused. "_And_ me?" she repeated. "What do you mean?"

He looked back at her a moment, his eyes warmer than usual. "It's going to be okay," he assured her. "I'm going to save you." He turned back and dashed out, but he heard May say one last time:

"Thank you, Shadow."


	14. Chapter 13: The Ultimate Power

Chapter 13: The Ultimate Power

Sonic and his friends were now in the core of the ARK where the Chaos Emeralds were connected to the Eclipse Cannon. The shrine in which they were currently embedded was spinning out of control. There were only twenty minutes left.

"What is that?" Knuckles breathed in disbelief. "It looks just like the shrine of the Master Emerald."

"I'll bet it's designed like that to harness the power of the Chaos Emeralds," Sonic suggested.

"Then it's doing a fine job of it," Ash muttered.

"Pikachu," Pikachu agreed.

They moved forward, but another sudden lurch threw them back, as a bright light slowly grew in front of them, the image of the professor that was looping on the world below exploding in front of them and unleashing a new threat: a massive, reptilian creature that looked ready to kill.

"Wha-what is that?!" Knuckles cried. Team Rocket, who was standing not far off, recognized it instantly.

"It's that monster from the papers we had!" James cried.

"You mean," Meowth looked at him fearfully, "that this is the real ultimate life form?"

"No," Jessie noted. "This is the Biolizard; it was only a prototype, and it was supposed to be encapsulated after the death of the professor."

"I'll bet that madman bypassed the system so he could use it to secure his ultimate revenge," Sonic shrugged.

"One way or another, nobody's going to die today," Ash growled. "Leave this to us."

"Pikachu!" Pikachu growled, small sparks on his cheeks.

"Ash," Sonic started, but he stopped him.

"We can distract this monster long enough for you guys to go get the emeralds."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Go, now!" Sonic and Knuckles nodded and dashed off. Ash cracked his knuckles and looked at Pikachu, smiling. "You ready for this, buddy?"

"Pika!" Pikachu nodded.

"All right. Start out with a Thunderbolt!"

"Piiiiikaaaaaa...CHUUUUUUUUUUU!" Pikachu unleashed his signature attack against the Biolizard, but the monster was barely fazed as it brushed off Pikachu's attack and slammed its jaws down on the mouse Pokemon.

"Gah! Pikachu!" Ash cried, attacking the monster, but the Biolizard slammed his jaws down on his shirt and threw him upwards. He landed on the massive metal machine on its back, and then all was strangely still. "What?" He looked up and saw that the Biolizard was breathing hard through pipes that connected to the machine Ash was on. Getting the hint, he slammed a fist down on the machine, causing the monster to yelp and rear its head, shaking violently. Ash fell to the side and got up quickly, rushing over. Pikachu was falling from above, and Ash leapt up to catch him. They landed in a heap.

"All right," he smiled at his best friend. "Let's try this again, shall we?"

Pikachu nodded and charged the Biolizard with a quick attack, but instead of trying to hit it, it kept it busy while Ash climbed up onto its back again to damage the machine, which he discerned to be its life-support system. It roared again, throwing him off its back. He landed hard on the ground this time, fazed but not undone. He slowly got up, grunting in pain.

"Pika!" Pikachu called, rushing over to him.

"There's got to be a better way to destroy that thing on his back," Ash muttered. "Even your most powerful electric attack won't destroy it completely, and after that we'd both be worn out." He glanced at his Pokeball. "Heracross has already been through enough. I guess we'll have to give it our all, now."

The Biolizard roared in their faces again, a dark ball of energy forming in its mouth. "Look out!" Ash cried, jumping to the side with Pikachu. The energy ball missed, but now Ash was worried. "The professor gave it the ability to use Shadow Ball?! What else did that crazy old devil do?!" Pikachu leapt up and used Iron Tail on the machine on the monster's back, and that did some damage. The monster raised its foot and stomped near them, knocking them to the ground. It started charging another Shadow Ball, and Ash, knowing full well we wasn't getting away from this one, threw Pikachu away and squeezed his eyes shut, bracing himself for the impact.

It never came. Instead, he heard another voice grunting and groaning as two power blasts collided. He opened his eyes and couldn't believe what he saw. "Shadow?!"

Shadow threw the Shadow Ball back at the Biolizard and turned back towards Ash. "You look like you could use some help."

Ash was skeptical. "What are you doing?"

Shadow's face grew solemn. "I was wrong about you," he admitted. "I was wrong about everything. Now I understand why you are so extraordinary."

Ash was puzzled, his eyes displaying their auburn side. "You embody everything good in humanity," Shadow went on. "You are kind, loving, courageous, and devoted to everything good...even at the cost of your own life. You are a true hero, Ash Ketchum." He turned back toward the monster, which was preparing for another attack. "Now it's time I learned what that means."

"Okay," Ash stuttered a moment, but then his eyes regained their fire. "Let's do this!"

"Pika pikachu!" Pikachu cheered, new determination in his eyes as well.

Shadow used Chaos Control to teleport onto the Biolizard's back and slammed his fists into the life-support system, causing the monster to roar in pain. He had made a real dent. Pikachu followed up with an Iron Tail, which made the pain worse. The reptilian monster raised its head and roared, pink bubbles rising from the ground. These bubbles began homing in on the unlikely trio, hurting them as they did so.

"Urgh!" Shadow grunted. "Where did the professor gain the ability to hone these powers?"

Ash raised an eyebrow. "I think a legendary Pokemon used this kind of tactic," he muttered. "I can't quite put my finger on who it was, but it's a powerful Pokemon."

Shadow used Chaos Control again, but the bubbles prevented him from getting in. "Gah!" he muttered. "These bubbles form an anti-Chaos barrier. I can't get in there any more!"

"Hm," Ash muttered, thinking hard; when it came to these situations, thinking was his element. "Try using your homing attack."

Shadow thought this over and nodded, bouncing off the bubbles and slamming into the life support system. By this point, it was starting to smoke from the damage it had taken. "I think we're halfway there," Ash muttered.

"Pikachu," Pikachu nodded.

"A little more, and Pikachu can finish the job," Shadow agreed.

Ash lit up. "Pikachu: try using your Iron Tail to deflect those pink bubbles when they come at us."

Pikachu smiled, liking the idea, and did so. The strategy worked: the pink bubbles shot back at the monster and hit its skin, but that didn't faze it in the slightest. It kept firing, and Pikachu grew weary.

"Leave this to me," Shadow growled at them, spotting an opening for Chaos Control to squeeze him through. He used it and slammed the machine once again. By now, it was really smoking, and the wired innards were exposed somewhat.

Ash saw this. "Now's our chance!" he shouted to Shadow. "Get out of the way. Pikachu: use Thunder!"

Shadow got out of there as Pikachu leapt up, screaming its name as a super-powerful electric shock slammed into the machine on the Biolizard's back. What followed was a huge explosion that caused the lizard to roar again, then fall to the ground, silent.

"Take that, you ugly prototype," Shadow grunted.

"Nice work, Pikachu," Ash smiled.

"Pikachu," Pikachu smiled back, nuzzling him.

Meanwhile, Knuckles placed the Master Emerald into the center of the shrine. It glowed brightly as it reacted to the presence of the seven Chaos Emeralds. The seven emeralds glowed in response to its plea for them to stop what they were doing. Unable to defy the large emerald's power, they let their glow fade. Sonic and Tails took them just as a deafening roar shook the room. The Biolizard, still alive, began glowing brightly.

"What's that?!" Sonic cried.

"It's...fading!" Ash noted in shock.

"Is that...Chaos Control?" Shadow breathed.

The Biolizard disappeared, gone without a trace. All was silent for a moment, but then a sudden lurch knocked the sense back into everyone.

"What?!" Knuckles cried. "But if we stopped the Chaos Emeralds, then why are we still on a course to crash into the planet?"

"THAT MONSTER STILL LIVES," came the familiar voice of Dr. Eggman through the loudspeakers in the room. "IT'S FUSED ITSELF TO THE ECLIPSE CANNON AND IS DRAGGING THE ARK ALONG ITS PRESCRIBED PATH. WE ONLY HAVE FIFTEEN MINUTES TO STOP THAT THING."

Ash huffed angrily. "Just couldn't stay down, could you?" he growled.

"We'll take care of this," Sonic nodded to him in determination. "Now that the Chaos Emeralds are free, we can use them." Shadow nodded to him, and they let the emeralds swirl around them, infusing them with their power and giving them super strength. They looked at each other, nodded, and flew out.

It took them five minutes to get out there. The Biolizard, just as Eggman had said, was fused to the Eclipse Cannon and dragging the ARK down, but it was really weak, as its life support system was destroyed.

"How do you want to go about this?" Sonic asked his unlikely teammate.

"Hm," Shadow mused. "Let's improvise for now. If we find something, we'll holler."

"Right," Sonic nodded, charging at the monster's skin. He began punching it rapidly, but the Biolizard didn't even flinch. "Uh, okay," he shrugged, punching various other areas. He got nowhere.

"It's skin is designed to absorb attacks," Shadow informed him; he'd met similar results. "We can't hurt it that easily."

"What's the plan, then?" Sonic asked.

"There!" Shadow pointed at a lump on the lizard's stomach. "It's swelling. Let's try that." Sonic shot straight at it, hitting the swelling lump dead on. This time, the lizard screamed in pain.

"Good guys: 1, Bad lizard: 0!" Sonic cheered.

"All right," Shadow dashed forward, searching around for another spot. "My turn." He spotted a lump and launched a super-powered Chaos Spear at it, splitting it in two. The pain seared through the lizard's body.

"Sonic! Can you hear me?" came the voice of Tails. "The ARK's getting close to the atmosphere. You've got to hurry up and stop that thing!"

"Roger!" Sonic replied, shooting for another spot, but a sudden laser shot out of the monster's back and knocked him away.

* * *

Ash saw this and gasped. "How much did the professor know about Pokemon? That was a perfect replica of Hyper Beam!"

* * *

"All right," Sonic growled. "You want to play rough, do you? Let's do it!" He charged at another swelling spot that caught his eye, dodging the lasers that the lizard apparently had no problem firing without the need for recharging, and slamming into it. The Biolizard roared in pain once again.

"It's working!" Shadow nodded. "The monster is weakening."

"Guys!" came the voice of Amy. "We're getting too close to the atmosphere! You've got to stop that thing now!"

"Got it, Amy!" Sonic assured her as Shadow charged the monster. The Hyper Beams didn't faze him in the slightest, and another Chaos Spear split another swelling in two, causing the Biolizard severe pain. He drew back, breathing hard. Sonic raised an eyebrow in concern. "You okay?"

"I'm fine," Shadow huffed, though his eyes looked tired. "Just go for it again."

Sonic nodded and charged the beast, dodging the lasers that came his way, but it was no use. He was thrown back. "Let's try going at it together," he suggested to Shadow.

"That should do the trick," he agreed, and they both charged at the same time, slamming into both sides of the lizard's neck. It gurgled and spat, but it was still going on.

"So we can choke it, can we?" Sonic muttered.

"Guys!" May called. "There's no more time! You've got to finish that thing off now!"

"Leave this to me," Shadow nodded to Sonic.

"Shadow, no!" Sonic retorted. "We can finish it together."

"The Biolizard will keep dragging the ARK down, whether it's dead or alive. I'm going to defuse it from the cannon while you distract it."

Sonic nodded. "Be careful."

Shadow didn't respond. He shot forward towards the base of the cannon, a familiar voice ringing in his head. "Yes, Maria," he nodded. "I will fulfill my promise to you!" With that, he let the braces on his wrists fall off and slammed his karate-style hands into the cannon's base. The Biolizard glowed brightly, and then fell off into the void that was space. The ARK was free of it, but it was too late: it had entered the atmosphere!

"No way that's getting through!" Sonic shouted. "Shadow! Let's use Chaos Control to get this sucker back in the sky!"

"No!" Shadow weakly informed him. "I...can't…"

"I can't do it without you, Shadow."

"And I can't do it." Sonic growled, but then Shadow lit up. "Wait a minute…"

Sonic nodded and called out via walkie-talkie: "Yo! Think you could lend us a hand?"

The gravelly voice came back in the affirmative. "Okay," Shadow nodded. "Let's do this...NOW!"

With that, Sonic, Shadow, and Ash Ketchum all shouted in unison:

"CHAOS CONTROL!"

The ARK exploded as energy swirled around it, and then it disappeared completely, along with Sonic. But Shadow, having exhausted the last of his power, closed his eyes and let his weariness consume him. He felt no fear as he fell through the atmosphere, and soon he saw a light coming towards him, blotting everything out of sight.

"Maria," he whispered, "this is what you wanted, wasn't it? Yes...this is the promise I made to you…"


	15. Chapter 14: Sayonara

Chapter 14: Sayonara

Tails, Knuckles, Amy, Ash, May, Eggman, Jessie, James, and Meowth stared down at the world below, now as far away from them as it should be. They all breathed a sigh of relief that knew no bounds. Down below, everyone rejoiced at seeing the ARK returned to the sky so that they were safe. But the heroes and villains onboard were anxious as to the fate of the two heroes.

The door leading in there opened, and there stood Sonic, returned to his normal state of being, a somber look on his face.

"Wh-where's Shadow?" Tails asked, fearing the worst. Sonic looked at him and shook his head.

"It can't be," Ash whispered. "Is he really –?"

"Yes," Sonic nodded, handing him a small, gold band that could fit on his wrist. "That fell off of him before he destroyed that monster once and for all."

Ash clutched it to his chest sadly. Pikachu looked at it, equally somber. "Poor Shadow," Amy sighed. "What a horrible existence he must've lived, knowing that his only reason for living was to destroy everything."

Sonic put a hand on her shoulder. "Why he was created doesn't matter. What he did defined who he was: a brave and heroic hedgehog who gave his life to save us all."

Ash smiled slightly, but the tears in his eyes could not be hidden. Tails smiled slightly as well, then it turned neutral when he saw Dr. Eggman looking out the window somberly. He walked up to him, slightly confused, as he never saw Eggman look anything but happy that an evil scheme worked, or angry that it failed. "Is everything okay, Eggman?" he asked.

"Yes," Eggman nodded, turning to face him. "I was just thinking about my grandfather. When I was a child, I always admired him as a role model. He was my hero. I wanted to grow up to be just like him: a great scientist who brought about magnificent change in this world." He smiled slightly as he reminisced on those days, but he turned neutral again as reality caressed him. "I never, in my wildest dreams, thought he meant to destroy us."

"He didn't," May interjected. "But when he lost everything he loved, he lost everything he was." She sighed sadly. "Such suffering should never be inflicted on anything."

"Even I, a scientist with dreams of ruling the world, would never seek to destroy everything," Eggman mused. "Even villains like me have standards, and I abide by them."

Knuckles looked at Team Rocket, the Master Emerald behind him. "So, what's next for you creeps?"

Jessie shrugged. "We'll take a break for a week."

"Frankly, I like that idea," James agreed. "After everything we've been through, we probably deserve it. Pikachu can stay safe a week, right?"

"Shut up, ya moron!" Meowth snapped. "Who the heck's talking about Pikachu? I just want to get me away from everything that happened here. This is more than anybody should experience in nine lifetimes."

"That's what I meant."

Meowth was surprised. "Oh. I didn't expect that."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Sonic smiled. "Let's go back home to the planet as cool and blue as me!" Everyone smiled and agreed to that. Soon, the room was vacant, save for one person: Ash. He stood there a moment, more, holding Shadow's wrist brace and looking out the window reflectively. Eventually, he followed the others, but just as he was leaving, he turned back to look at the room one last time.

"You did good out there," he smiled. "I won't forget you." His smile turned neutral as he turned away, whispering as the door closed behind him:

"_Sayonara...Shadow the Hedgehog._"

* * *

**Well, that's the end. Ah, that last scene of the story was really well done; it always touches my emotions in some way. I don't think I did it much justice here, but I did try.**

**Thanks for reading. Feel free to rate and review, but please don't be a jerk about it (I believe that's called flames on FF; is that right?). Once again, I do not own Pokemon or Sonic, but you knew that already. This is my first fanfic on this site, and I hope it won't be my last.**

**See you next time!**


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